Sleepless in Seattle (1993)

Director:

Nora Ephron

Writers (WGA):

Jeff Arch (story)
Nora Ephron (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

25 June 1993 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance | Drama

Tagline:

What if someone you never met, someone you never saw, someone you never knew was the only someone for you?

Plot:

A recently-widowed man's son calls a radio talk show in an attempt to find his father a partner.

Plot Keywords:

Radio | Love | New York | Christmas Eve | Valentine's Day

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 4 wins & 10 nominations

Cast

Tom Hanks	...	Sam Baldwin
Ross Malinger	...	Jonah Baldwin
Rita Wilson	...	Suzy
Victor Garber	...	Greg
Tom Riis Farrell	...	Rob
Carey Lowell	...	Maggie Baldwin
Meg Ryan	...	Annie Reed
Bill Pullman	...	Walter
Le Clanché du Rand	...	Barbara Reed
Kevin O'Morrison	...	Cliff Reed
David Hyde Pierce	...	Dennis Reed
Valerie Wright	...	Betsy Reed
Frances Conroy	...	Irene Reed
Tom Tammi	...	Harold Reed
Calvin Trillin	...	Uncle Milton

Also Known As:

Algo para recordar (Spain) (Spain: Castilian title) (dubbed version) [es]
Sömnlös i Seattle (Finland: Swedish title) (Sweden) [sv]
Schlaflos in Seattle (Austria) (Germany) [de]
Sintonía de amor (Argentina) (Venezuela) [es]
Sintonia de Amor (Brazil) (Portugal) [pt]
Неспящие в Сиэтле (Russia) [ru]
A szerelem hullámhosszán (Hungary) [hu]
Alguna cosa per recordar (Spain: Catalan title) [ca]
Bezsennosc w Seattle (Poland) [pl]
Insonnia d'amore (Italy) [it]
La magie du destin (Canada: French title) [fr]
Nuits blanches à Seattle (France) [fr]
Romanca v Seattlu (Slovenia) [sl]
Søvnløs i Seattle (Norway) [no]
Uneton Seattlessa (Finland) [fi]
Unetus Seattle'is (Estonia) [et]

MPAA:

Rated PG for some language.

Runtime:

105 min | Turkey:93 min (TV version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:L | USA:PG (certificate #32238) | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Chile:TE | Finland:S | Germany:6 | Ireland:PG | Netherlands:AL | South Korea:12 | Spain:T | Sweden:Btl | UK:PG | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

1904 4th Avenue, Seattle, Washington, USA

Company:

TriStar Pictures

Trivia:

The scene between Tom Hanks and Victor Garber crying over the movie The Dirty Dozen (1967) was completely improvised during the take.

Goofs:

Continuity: Walter is supposed to be allergic to wheat, but he ordered a sandwich on white bread, which is made from wheat.

Quotes:

[Jonah is missing]
Jessica's Father: Jessica, this is your father. Tell us where he is, right this minute!
Jessica: "N.Y."
Sam Baldwin: What's that?
Jessica's Father: "No way."
Sam Baldwin: That's "N.W."!
Jessica: New York. He's on his way to New York.
Jessica's Mother: What? How?
Jessica: United, Flight 597.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air: Sleepless in Bel-Air (#4.14)" (1994)

Soundtrack:

Bye Bye Blackbird

A few flaws, but strong overall

Tom Hanks is his usual steady, likable self in "Sleepless in Seattle," a steady, likable movie that also benefits from one of Meg Ryan's more restrained (i.e. less obviously, annoyingly cute) performances.

It's their talent that helped me overlook some of the film's more noticeable flaws, particularly its treatment of the eventually-to-be-rejected Other Man and Other Woman. Both Hanks' and Ryan's "unsuitable" partners appear to be perfectly nice people, yet the movie casually dismisses them over one little flaw apiece--the woman laughs like a hyena and the man has terrible allergies. Both characters behave very well, considering the way they're treated by others. Hanks' girlfriend in particular desires a medal for putting up with his brat of a son, who is rude to her at every opportunity.

I also had difficulty warming to Hanks' son, although he is certainly preferable to the young girl who keeps expressing everything in initials.

On the bright side, there are many engaging supporting characters, including Rob Reiner as a fellow architect. Also of note are the rich homeowner, the dotty babysitter and Rosie O'Donnell as Ryan's editor and friend. Thankfully, few to none of their scenes involve the annoying children.

Many of the jokes are funny, the best coming when Hanks and a friend ridicule the weepy reaction of many women to "chick flicks" by sobbing as they recount the plot of "The Dirty Dozen."