A week ago I watched "Sleepless in Seattle" (1993) for the 1st time in several years -- and was struck by how deep a movie this really is, and how much it has to teach us about finding one's, destined true love.
True, the first time I saw "Sleepless in Seattle" all I did was drool for two hours. As it is impossible for this heterosexual, unattached male to watch a fine specimen of female species -- such as Meg is -- without salivating relentlessly, thus missing much of crux of the plot. Meg Ryan isn't a bad place to hang out for 2 hours.
So, seeing as though I live in Seattle -- okay so it's 50 miles south of Seattle, close enough, Georgie -- I feel empowered to speak on behalf of the greater metropolitan Seattle in correctly reviewing, and distilling the treasure that "Sleepless in Seattle" is.
First off, in the tittle of this post, I classified "Sleepless in Seattle" as a destiny rom-com. Let me explain. The central idea that is played with in "Sleepless in Seattle" is the idea of the specialness of experiencing your fated, one, true love for yourself. This is contrasted beautifully against a corollary love situation of settling for a parner based on the practicalities of real life. "Sleepless in Seattle"'s main appeal is the fulfillment of destiny which culminates in one finding their true love that brings them ultimate peace and fulfilment in their lives.
Destiny is a MAJOR theme in "Sleepless in Seattle." And I'm afraid to say, if you feel otherwise, you're probably too stupid to continue reading this post. Go back to the comics. Back to scratch and sniffs. Rob Reiner, Jeff Arch, and Nora Ephron did a MASTERFULL job of exploring this concept with its fantasy element and how it can ground into some form of reality in people's lives.
For central character Sam (Tom Hanks) his character arch is one of destiny lost to reknewed hope of a fresh, one great love found. The question he grapples with: can it happen to you twice in one lifetime? Is their still a great love to be had once the one you loved dearly passes on.
For heroine Anne (Meg Ryan) her character arch is one of BELIEVING that romantic destiny can be had, and that you don't have to settle for the wrong guy; a.k.a. Bellamy, Walter (Bill Pullman). Anne struggles with the practicality of the one, great love. All throughout the movie Anne grapples with the fact that she can coexist and function with Walter, but their is no "magic" in their relationship. Rather, she's just going through the motions, unfulfilled; because Walter isn't her one, great love that she's supposed to be with.
One of the sleeper aspects of "Sleepless in Seattle" -- which most people miss -- is how Sam's son Jonah(Ross Mallinger) is used to bring this couple of destiny together. Who would have taught that a son or daughter could be used to bring a romantic pairing together? Normally sons or daughter of previous relationships are part of the hinderance/obstacle that a fresh romantic pairing must overcome. But in "Sleepless in Seattle" it is Jonah who repeatedly takes action all with the goal of finding his dad a new wife, which will bring him out of his sadness and make him happy again. How refreshing IS that concept: a sibling wanting their parent to be happy, and actually taking action to instigate them finding love for themselves. I think it's brilliant.
Of all the rom-coms I can think of, I believe there is more lessons that subtly preached in "Sleepless in Seattle" than any other rom-com that's ever been made. I'll now expound on that statement.
Love Lessons Present in "Sleepless in Seattle":
1. Everyone has a great love to be found, so one shouldn't just settle for what's available at the momment. Both Anne and Sam have Bellamys in their life. For Anne it's the boring Walter. For Sam it's Victoria, a woman he could easy connect with because they can co-exist and relate based on their career paths; Sam's an architect, Victoria's an interior designer. Imagine what could have happened had not Anne and Sam been open to finding their one great love: they would have settled for Mr. and Mrs. 2nd best, and never been fully happy.
2. Magic and a sence of destiny are a key componet of romantic love that should not be over-looked. Anne really grapples with this issue. Her mother, played to perfection by actress: Le Clanché du Rand, set's the hook for her in ACT I, when their up in the attic and Anne's trying on her mother's wedding dress. There her mother says a lot of good stuff that TEACHES us a lot about romantic love. Most key is the magic of touch: that you can just KNOW that your romantic pairing is right by the feeling you get just by holding that special someone's hand. Setut-up for payoff in final scene. Brilliant plotting by story crafter, Jeff Arch, here. Also Anne's mother talks about sex, how fulfilled she was sexually by her husband; something you can see on Anne's face that she doesn't share with Walter. Then there's the familiarly/closeness bond, when Anne's mother brings up whether or not Walter has any nic-names -- which saddens Anne that he does not.
3. Their are signs to be seen when your current romantic pairing is not right, and you'd be better of with someone else. All throughout "Sleepless in Seattle" heroine Anne has moments with Walter. Moments where she's waiting for him to prove to her that he's the one, good-fit, true love for her. But time and time again, things are slightly off with Walter. Even when he picks out the perfect ring, Anne has doubts. Those are red flags that have a take-away message. A warning for all who dabble in aspects of love. Constant disappointment with your romatic pairing means you're ill matched, and would be better off waiting for your one, ture love.
For Sam, this sense of wrong is for the most part discard. Why? Because Sam's character, has for the most part, given up even to start the quest that he could convievably find someone as perfect as his beloved, deceased wife, Maggie. He counts himself out of the game, and really just kind of feels lucky that he's got a romantic love at all in his life. Sam is willing to settle for Victoria -- but his plucky son, Jonah won't let him! You see Sam's warning sign is his son -- and Jonah wants him to pursue Anne from Baltimore. What an interesting, takeaway message that can be for the rest of us: close members of our family can serve as romantic testers of sorts for us, when we can't see clearly. Jonah points his father in the direction of his romantic destiny, Anne. How cool is that?
4. Don't stress over finding that one, special love; as their are factors above and beyond your control which will act on your behalf to bring you together. Anne and Sam are on opposite coasts. Seemingly fated to remain appart forever. BUT then a radio broadcast, that Anne's in tune with, gets Anne to be aware of Sam initially.
Other people sense when you're looking, and will help you explore the possibility of your destiny. Betsy (Rosie O'Donnel) empowers Anne to go to Seattle and check this out herself and provides moral support over the phone. Sam has friends from Chicago (Rita Wilson's character) who listen to him, and help him find his footing. Sam also has Rob Reiner's character who gives him some romantic pointers -- though they more serve as a true love thwart of sorts, as Rob Reiner's character empowers Sam to pursue Victoria, who is Sam's Bellamy.
What a relief it should bring us all that it's not ALL on us to find our one, true love. Their are other factors which can conceivably bring us together, if we're open to the signs and how they make us feel.
The first time Sam sees Anne in the airport; sign: there's something special about this girl worth pursuing. Anne can't get "Sleepless in Seattle" out of her head, despite the fact that she's engaged to another man; sign: something's wrong with her current romantic pairing, time to be open to something new.
5. Hardheadeness can leave one insensitive to the delicate nature of love, and can lead to one miss their own connection to their one, true love. Sam's interest in Victoria grows despite Jonah's constant insistence that he pursue Anne from Baltimore. Anne keeps giving Walter a chance to win her over, despite the constant disappointment that he brings into her life.
Sam is dangerously close to totally missing Anne, more more close than Anne is of missing Sam, as you get the idea that Anne can't settle for Walter.
When it's all been said and done, I think "Sleepless in Seattle" is a fine, romantic comedy. When I first watched it, I didn't find it overly funny, BUT I did find it very romantic. Watching it again last night, I really savored the comedic lines strewn in throughout; a definite attempt was made to make this movie funny and easier for people with more uptight dispositon to enjoy.
I think this movie has more appeal to women's romantic fantasy fulfillment then men's. Sure rom-roms are sometimes dubbed as "chick flicks." But I would counter with the argument that SOME rom-coms actually have more appeal to men than women. Case-and-point:"(500) Days of Summer"where you really get a slanted view of romantic love from Gordon Levitt Hewitt's character, and "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" which is descidedly slanted towards Steve Carell's romantic dilemma.
The only real plot/logic flaw I found with "Sleepless in Seattle" comes in Act II. When Annie follows Sam and Jonah's boat ride from their houseboat on Lake Union to Alki Beach, there is NO WAY she could do this. To get from the site of Sam's floating house on Lake Union to get to Alki beach you have to go through the Ballard locks then cut across Elliot Bay to the Alki beachfront. It's a long way, and there in NO WAY someone could follow a boat by car using waterfront roads. But since Jeff Arch isn't even a native of the land, I think he's from the East Coast, and probably 99.99% of the people who have ever watched this film are unaware of this flub, I just kinda sweep under the carpet too. No biggie.
One cool visual in Sleepless in Seattle was the use of maps. The opening credits play over the sun rinsing over a gradually illuminating map of the U.S. over the Jimmy Durante song, "As Time Goes By." I really liked that. Also like the use of maps by Sam to illustrate to his Jonah how impracticable it is for he and anyone from other states to connect romantically based on the distance between them. Then maps are used again when Anne travels back to Baltimore, and then when Jonah then Sam fly to New York. Then finally in the end credits the entire U.S. map goes up in stars, then several shoot up into the sky; an illustration of hopeful romantics all throughough the U.S. who are hopeful that their own romantic dreams can be answered by destiny.
Does this post have an E.C. tie-in to scripts he's written? Damn-straight, Skippy. Y' see the 1st pure rom-com I wrote, which is intitled Cupid's Helpers" has a decided Seattle bend to it. So much so in fact that it even has a pivotal scene up in a Seattle landmark, the Space Needle restaurant.
Well-p, this post has rambled on long enough. Still have more to say about "Sleepless in Seattle" BUT I think I'll save that for another day. "Sleepless in Seattle" is a destiny rom-com, and it defiantly deserves to be in ANYONE'S list of all-time, rom-com greats; it definitely makes my top ten, and I would argue that "Sleepless in Seattle" has one of the best take-home-and-discuss messages of ANY romantic comedy that's EVER been filmed. Their is so much to like about "Sleepless in Seattle," I only hope I did this fine film its due homage in this post.
Till we meet again,
E.C. Henry from Bonney Lake, WA
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