Sleepless in Seattle, 1993

Director: Nora Ephron

Stars: Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan,Ross Malinger, Bill Pullman, Rob Reiner, Rosie O'Donnell, Rita Wilson

Before she directed You've Got Mail and Bewitched (good movies!), Nora Ephron made Sleepless in Seattle. The film was actually inspired by An Affair to Remember, which I reviewed yesterday, and which starred Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr. Sleepless refers back to it several times.

"And all I could say was 'hello'."

So, Sam Baldwin (Hanks) is a widower in Seattle, whose son Jonah (Malinger) calls in to a radio station on Christmas Eve, asking Dr. Marsha Fieldstone for help because he thinks his dad needs a new wife. Driving home from her family's Christmas celebration, where she just announced her engagement to Walter (Pullman), Annie (Ryan) hears the broadcast, and is moved to tears by Sam's open and honest conversation on the radio.

Unable to get Sam and his words out of her mind, Annie struggles with her growing feelings for a stranger in Seattle and her engagement to Walter. Meanwhile, Sam is dealing with a broken heart, and his determination to start dating again, after he discovers that his 8-year-old son has a girlfriend.

"What if this man is my destiny and I never meet him?" --Annie

(I couldn't say it better myself!)

My favorites: 1) Rob Reiner and Rosie O'Donnell's characters are definitely worth mentioning here. They play the best friends of Sam and Annie, and they are just fantastic! 2) My favorite part is the conversation about An Affair to Remember and The Dirty Dozen. Very Amusing! 3) I think this is a very unique movie- the main characters are only in 3 short scenes together. And they only talk to each other in 2 of those scenes. That's crazy! Want to see Meg and Tom really work together? You've Got Mail!