Review of Sleepless in Seattle (1993) by Najd G — 08 Jul 2016

Sleepless in Seattle is interesting in that it's a romance, and yet the two main characters are very rarely seen onscreen at the same time. The fact that these two characters are separated by thousands of miles sort of splits the film into two sections: a tale of grief and father-son drama after the death of a wife and a mother, and a story of a young woman who is stuck between a relationship with a fiancé and being in love with a man she's never met. In terms of performances, Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan are both solid in portraying these characters, with the former in particular truly standing out with a balance of charm and emotional moments that he so consistently delivers.

Unfortunately, everything else in the film falls apart, and struggles to live up to its unique premise. Nora Ephron mostly fails to deliver the same kind of organic character development that made her past outing, screenwriting work on Rob Reiner's classic When Harry Met Sally, work so well. Ephron seems to think she's delivering some sort of tongue-in-cheek look at the tropes of romantic comedies, especially when it comes to Meg Ryan's half of the story, and yet she delivers every single trope in the book and follows every beat you expect. The promise the film sets up in the first act is utterly wasted as it slowly devolves into a third act full of moments that are too idealistic for their own good: idealism in romance can work when handled correctly, but this film sacrifices logical character motivations in favor of it, and it hurts the film more than it helps it.

If you're going to watch any 90s rom-com, stick with When Harry Met Sally. Aside from two memorable performances from Hanks and Ryan, it doesn't flow as well and lacks the same kind of impact of Ephron's past work.