Can I just say how much I love the movie While You Were Sleeping? It's such a classic. I rewatched it recently, and I was struck with how much better it is than any romcom I've seen in the last few years. Take, for example, Sandra Bullock's most recent romantic role in The Proposal. There was, like, no chemistry between her character and Ryan Reynolds' character. The only reason apparently given for why they end up liking each other is that they're forced into all these intimate situations, and she's repeatedly humiliated. (...which, apparently makes her likeable? *deep breath, stops self from going into feminist tirade*) Compare that to Sleeping, where Jack and Lucy have all these long conversations and are constantly bantering and laughing together.

One neat thing I noticed this time that I don't think I've ever noticed before is that part when Jack gives her the snow globe of Florence the night before she's supposed to marry Peter; as he stands in her apartment, you can see the globe lamp of her father's shining behind him in the background, which is a kind of cool visual symbol there.

I also love how it's not just about a lonely girl landing herself a ring, but about how she learns to speak for herself and articulate her feelings. There's all these great character-building moments at the beginning where she lets herself get pushed around and doesn't complain--the hotdog guy gets her order wrong, her boss pressures her into working Christmas, Joe Jr. takes her passive response to his come-on as a "yes." And of course the big one--when the nurse tells everyone she's Peter's fiancee, and she can't manage to tell them the truth. But by the end of the movie, she's clearly speaking her feelings--she interrupts the chaplain at her wedding to say, "I object"; she gives the speech explaining all the past mix-ups; and she's the first one to say "I love you" when Jack proposes.

Plus, I have to say, I love Sandra Bullock so much more in those big baggy sweaters she wore in this movie, where her face just shines out in the midst of all that gray wool, than in all the tight-fitting, fashionable, high-heeled outfits of The Proposal. You know?

I'm excited because I picked up my copy of While You Were Sleeping at the almost-defunct Hollywood Video for pretty cheap--so now I can watch it as many times as I want. I highly recommend a little trip down memory lane with this movie if you haven't seen lately--it's a keeper.

Labels: movies

1 comments

Oh I love that movie too. I'll have to watch it soon. I also just watched Princess Bride again and remembered how much I love it!

By  Kim, at 4:55 PM  

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