Director: Nora Ephron
Cast: Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan, Bill Pullman, Ross Malinger
Have I Seen it Before: Oh, sure. Not as many times as You’ve Got Mail (1998), certainly, and I have to admit the moment that sticks in my head more completely than any others is the exchange about one of the letter writers is Sam’s (Hanks) third grade teacher, but that’s only because that scene is in The Cable Guy (1996), and I’ve seen that film quite a bit.
Did I Like It: Here’s a statement that I didn’t think I was going to write when I started rewatching the movie, but it is a conclusion I can’t escape:
Sleepless in Seattle is the Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) of romantic comedies.
Wait, don’t go. Let me explain.
This isn’t necessarily a measure of quality. Sleepless is fine, I have no complaints, but if we remember from earlier, I’m more of a You’ve Got Mail man, myself, and it isn’t just because of the typewriters, because there’s more than a little typewriter porn to be found here. It’s more of a measure of the film’s construction.
Much has been made of the chemistry between Ryan and Hanks. It made Mail one of my absolute favorites, and made Joe Versus the Volcano (1990) a mainstream movie and not one of the weirdest thing to get a wide release.
But they barely share a scene together in this film. They look at each other across a highway, and I wouldn’t be shocked if neither of them where on that stretch of road on the same day. They exchange a few words on the roof of the Empire State Building, and that’s the whole show. Just like Montalbán and Shatner in Khan, when you think about it. Maybe I’m the only one thinking about it. I can acknowledge that.