My mom rented While You Were Sleeping from Hollywood Video in 1995, and it became my first favorite movie. Third graders typically don’t fall for romantic comedies, particularly ones as gentle and dialogue-happy as this, but my early affection points to the film being unique in spite of its conventions.
While You Were Sleeping follows Lucy Moderatz (Sandra Bullock), a lonely public transit worker crushing on handsome attorney Peter Callahan (Peter Gallagher). When muggers throw him on the train tracks on Christmas, Lucy leaps down to save him, but a mix-up at the hospital leaves comatose Peter’s family believing she is both his guardian angel and future wife. Try as she might to extricate herself and tell the truth, she’s thwarted and discouraged at every turn, which leads to escalating tension, particularly when Peter’s brother Jack (Bill Pullman) appears and immediately clicks with Lucy.
Although the film is a romantic comedy full of the requisite laughs and heart, While You Were Sleeping excels outside its awkward love triangle. Set in snowy Chicago during the holidays, the movie is warm and cozy, like a favorite sweater fresh out of the dryer. Lucy’s love story is as much about Jack as his family: the Callahans absorb her into their lives and home, gifting an affection-starved woman who buried both parents the connection she needs. Among the many feats of Jon Turteltaub’s film are the cross-talk scenes of family meals: they’re packed with snappy comedy dialogue but maintain a wholesome authenticity. Combined with an exceptional cast of side characters—my favorites being her exasperated boss Jerry (Jason Bernard) and her slimy neighbor Joe Jr. (a delightful Michael Rispoli)—While You Were Sleeping is well-acted by all players.
Still, this is Bullock’s and Pullman’s film. The former’s star would grow three sizes with Speed soon after, leaving this and Hope Floats as relics of the homely, understated character actress she wouldn’t be again. Lucy is demure and kind, a generous pushover with simple goals, but her heart is in the right place. Buried in oversized sweaters and selling discomfort with rigid posture and bashful eyes, Bullock’s Lucy is as instantly lovable as any rom-com protagonist. Meanwhile, Pullman, though far less expressive than his co-star, is a flawless fit for woodworker Jack. He’s a K-Mart denim jacket to his brother’s Armani suit; he’s handsome and rustic and funny, but Pullman imbues him with this little brother hesitancy that makes watching him fall for Lucy a delight. Theirs is tender, believable chemistry, a vital achievement for a movie built on innocent deception.
As Sweet Appeal can confirm, I love the mistaken identity trope, and While You Were Sleeping executes it masterfully. Where Dear Evan Hansen sweats to keep its unwitting fibber self-aware, the script by Daniel Sullivan and Fred Lebow sees Lucy obsessed with doing the right thing. She attempts a half-dozen confessions—it’s her boss and Peter’s godfather (Jack Warden) who warn her off the truth. Per genre norms, While You Were Sleeping concludes with a kiss, but the inevitable confession speech that precedes it counts among my favorite scenes in any movie.
It’s impossible to capture a film as formative as this in a few paragraphs. While You Were Sleeping provided my first vocabulary for love, but it’s a modest movie, a quintessential 90s rom-com before they became formulaic, with a future megastar winning our hearts for the first time. This is a film to watch while snuggled under a fluffy blanket and sipping fresh cocoa.
And hey, if you like it, I’ve got a novel you might be interested in…
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