X
- 1995
- PG
- Buena Vista Pictures
- 1 h 43 m
- 1995
- PG
- Buena Vista Pictures
- 1 h 43 m
Summary A lonely subway worker (Bullock) becomes smitten with a handsome stranger (Gallagher). But when she saves his life after he's been mugged and fallen into a coma, his hilariously offbeat family mistakes her for his fiancée. The mix-ups escalate as Lucy fabricates a life between herself and a man she's never met. And when Lucy falls for hi...
Directed By: Jon Turteltaub
Written By: Daniel G. Sullivan, Fredric Lebow
- 1995
- PG
- Buena Vista Pictures
- 1 h 43 m
- 1995
- PG
- Buena Vista Pictures
- 1 h 43 m
While You Were Sleeping
67
8.1
Where to Watch
Summary A lonely subway worker (Bullock) becomes smitten with a handsome stranger (Gallagher). But when she saves his life after he's been mugged and fallen into a coma, his hilariously offbeat family mistakes her for his fiancée. The mix-ups escalate as Lucy fabricates a life between herself and a man she's never met. And when Lucy falls for hi...
Directed By: Jon Turteltaub
Written By: Daniel G. Sullivan, Fredric Lebow
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 20 Critic Reviews
67
65% Positive
13 Reviews
13 Reviews
35% Mixed
7 Reviews
7 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 20 Critic Reviews
67
65% Positive
13 Reviews
13 Reviews
35% Mixed
7 Reviews
7 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
But Turteltaub surprises us. He has the kind of unerring comic touch - easily able to carry his audience from smart dialogue to heart-tugging emotion to something awfully close to slapstick - that should serve the movie world well.
The chief reason that we feel generous toward the film is Bullock herself. She tickles. All the others are good, especially Pullman and Gallagher, but she's the one we want to spend time with. [22 May 1995, Pg.28]
User Score
Universal Acclaim
Based on 80 User Ratings
8.1
78% Positive
62 Ratings
62 Ratings
20% Mixed
16 Ratings
16 Ratings
3% Negative
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
User Score
Universal Acclaim
Based on 80 User Ratings
8.1
78% Positive
62 Ratings
62 Ratings
20% Mixed
16 Ratings
16 Ratings
3% Negative
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
The romantic comedy to define all romantic comedies. While You Were Sleeping is irresistibly lovable through its charming cast and a lovely story that more than lives up to its name.
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Bullock is a delight, disarmingly kooky, pleasing to look at, and - as she has previously proved - a gifted comedic actress.
Director Jon Turteltaub has a smooth style suited to classic farce and knows just how to pace the material to accentuate the positive.
It's a movie about the warm feeling you get when you belong to a family, and, throughout, the thermostat is turned up high.
In general, the script is just slightly above sitcom level, but a few lines, owing to great delivery by terrific actors, raise this a few notches on the comedy scale.
A wobbly romantic comedy, Sleeping plays its romantic elements just right, but badly botches the comedy.
Jon Turteltaub's "While you were sleeping" has all the trappings and familiar ingredients that make up a standard romantic dramedy it has the all too familiar set up. The girl is in love with the person but he does not notice her or she does not make herself know, something happens and she either is thrust into his life or ends up lying to be close to him. In this case, Lucy Moderatz (Sandra Bullock) lies to the object of her affection (Peter Gallagher) family in order to get close to him and be near when he wakes up. You see Lucy saved Peter Callaghan(the first object of her affection) after he fell on the tracks and is subsequently knocked into a coma they take him to the hospital with her in tow and the case of mistaken identity ensues his family thinking he is Peter's fiancÃe. If you think this sounds conventional and familiar well then you are wrong the only thing conventional about this picture is the set up to this touching and very deep romance story. At the very center of this film "While you were Sleeping" is the rare romantic dramedy that takes you by surprises not by the fact that you can see what's coming a mile away but by the fact that you did not see it coming makes all the difference. Jon Turtltaub's "While you Were Sleeping" is a film at first I did not expect to like at all it seemed like nothing more than a standard, run of the mill romantic dramedy that would do nothing more than just provide the usual story of a lonely love struck girl getting the man of her dreams. However, after seeing this picture my opinion of this film completely changed I started seeing it for what it is an extremely charming, touching, heartfelt and funny film that is far beyond the standards of Romantic comedy flair. "While you Were Sleeping" is intelligent and daring it is not afraid to show its human side to show how vulnerable its characters as regular people can be. How they easily are hurt, you see in a typical romantic comedy the characters insult each other like there is no tomorrow they hurt one another repeatedly until they finally concludes that this is not how love works in fact it is the exact opposite its called hatred. The characters in this film do not overtly insult each other sure there are moments where they tease one another but for the most part they are a caring bunch of people the most caring would have to be 0x Callaghan(Peter Boyle) who is one of the few Callaghan's that embraces Lucy from the get go. Boyle's character is a sweet yet feisty fellow who is not afraid to defend the ones he loves when needed, that is the key to this films excellence that is what makes it so real, so human, so warm and loving it is the vibrant characters. Without theses colorful cast of characters this film would sink into the low standards the sub genre is recognized. "While You were Sleeping" is a film that can not be missed or ignored it is just too good to be true and to funny and sweet to resist and even though I knew this film was going to have a happy ending, even though I saw where it was headed I still found myself enjoying and loving every single minute of this beautifully drawn film. This film is built from familiar ingredients but this film has such charm and such spirit that no matter how much this film comes off as another rom-com dished out. You will love every single frame and every single minute of this film, the only other thing that saves this film is the magnificent performance from the ever-lovely Sandra Bullock. It is her performance that elevates this film that and the skill of director Jon Turteltaub and his team together they create a film that works better than it should and plays out far better than you could ever expect. The filmmakers do what seldom few directors do in theses films they put a human soul into it, they put real emotions and real feelings into this film that not only affects the mood of the movie but also affects the mood of the audience. If the characters are, arguing and fighting all the time than the audience can become agitated by this and turn there backs on the film. That however, is not the case with this film you feel for the characters you sympathize with the characters you even grow with them as they find there sense o belonging in this world , or in the case of Lucy Moderatz, her sense of belonging. That is what makes a good romantic dramedy and that is why others fail they do not capture the heart and soul the trials ad tribulations that come with the feelings of love. "While you Were Sleeping" hits all the right notes.
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the finesse on weaving the structure..
While You Were Sleeping
While You Were Sleeping is a plot driven romcom whose benign complexity is its strength unlike any other feature. The core is undeniably a typical textbook equation but it exfoliates the charm with one liners and hilarious humor rather than polishing it with flirty talk. And when it grows intense it holds onto you until you surrender yourself feeling a plethora of emotions where the primary one is satisfaction. The chemistry is the ace in the hole in such genre which it delivers unflinchingly in here but it's not among the lead characters that are at their best but side ones. Bullock and Warden are the perfect sensible teammates you will ever get on screen whilst Bullock's bittersweet relationship with Rispoli is the highlight of the feature. The narrative has a mockery tone that draws out the laugh from its uncertainty and unexpected outcomes from each character. The screenplay by Sullivan and Lebow is gripping, adaptive and sensible if not layered or thought provoking as the makers might suggest. It is shot beautifully with a true Christmas spirited theme that is pleasingly light and breezy to encounter but is unfortunately short on technical aspects like cinematography, background score and editing. Bullock as always delivers to the full with the help of a decent supporting cast like Boyle, Warden and Rispoli. The ironic humor, a sense of urgency and a good old romantic tale are the high points of the feature. The director Turteltaub is honest to its characters and storyline where he neither overchews it nor leaves it undercooked. While You Were Sleeping is surprisingly a very smart feature on terms of the finesse on weaving the structure with every bit of husky material it could **** off from its characters and their sub-plots.
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This is very much basic rom com territory - it is cheesy, very unplausible and an easy watch. The plot is ludicrous but I went with it - its a bit of fun and sometimes thats just the ticket, so to speak. Its not in any way memorable and neither does it feature stand out performances or a believable storyline, as I say but its an alright watch, with some fairly amusing moments and as such, it could be worse I guess. There's not much else I could think to say about it really.
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I must say simple surreal how it manages to be funny and witty while telling an emotional story. Truly something we all must strive for in our own writings.
Peter is a hilarious character and his deadpan reactions to the world around him are superb. It's nice to see the family dynamic used so expertly for both comedy and a heart-wrenching story. Unfortunately, I swore to my sister when she made me watch this that I'd hate it, so to save face, 2/10 you non-miraculous son ****.
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Awards
Golden Globes, USA
• 1 Nomination
MTV Movie + TV Awards
• 2 Nominations
BMI Film & TV Awards
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
