SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE
A film review by Mark R. Leeper
Copyright 1993 Mark R. Leeper
Capsule review: Nora Ephron tells the story of Fate
bringing together a man and a woman "made for each other."
The story is occasionally touching, but feather-light.
Rating: +1 (-4 to +4).
Not long ago A STRANGER AMONG US introduced audiences to the word "bashert." It is the concept that a man and a woman are fated to meet and fall in love, a pairing made in heaven. People in SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE discuss whether there is anything to this concept and are inclusive, but it is clear that screenwriter Nora Ephron wants us to believe it is true. SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE has the strangest case of bashert since SOMEWHERE IN TIME. Ephron, who previously wrote WHEN HARRY MET SALLY..., has written and this time directs this story about when Sam met Annie.
Sam is Sam Baldwin (played by Tom Hanks). Sam lost his wife Maggie and decides to leave Chicago and its memories and to move to Seattle. There, eighteen months later, he is still a wreck and an insomniac to boot. He lives in a houseboat with his son Jonah (talk about tempting fate!). Jonah (played by Ross Malinger) calls a radio psychologist to ask what his dad should do. When Sam is called to the phone, he opens up to the psychologist and shows such sensitivity that hundreds of women listerers across the country are moved, including the absolutely right woman for Sam. She is Annie Reed (played by Meg Ryan). Unfortunately, she lives a continent away in Baltimore and is already engaged to be married. But Fate is not to be cheated, and we follow two story lines--the lives of Sam and Annie--knowing full well that they will eventually come together.
Ephron's plotting is not really her strong point. The film is extremely sentimental from the opening credits on. Under the credits we hear Jimmy Durante singing "As Time Goes By" and are shown a map of the United States on a section of a globe. As each actor's name is credited, a star is added in the sky over the map. Then in the film as a running gag everybody has seen the sad film AN AFFAIR TO REMEMBER. All the women love it; none of the men care for it. Eventually that film will be pivotal in bringing Sam and Annie together.
While the plot is sentimental and a little sticky, the dialogue is a lot of fun and often very witty and insightful. Annie's confidante is her friend Becky (played by Rosie O'Donnell) who, like Annie, is unmarried and is clearly getting frustrated. Her cynical comments are some of the best lines in the film. On the other hand, Sam's conversations with his friend Jay (played by Rob Reiner) are totally unlikely and inane. As before, Ephron's female characters are better written than her male characters. Still, it is unusual these days to see an unabashedly--not to say overly-- romantic film. SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE is diverting and even nostalgic with its resurrection of old songs that act as commentary on the story. Nothing great, but a solid +1 on the -4 to +4 scale.
Mark R. Leeper
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