WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING DVD

I feel like this is a more underrated rom-com, but is SO good, it needs more love because this is the perfect balance between romance and comedy. The scenes with the whole family together are comedy gold, and this is a very heartfelt story that holds up so well. Definitely recommend giving this a watch!

Good movie

For her work after "Speed" my brother began referring to Sandra Bullock as "Queen of the Chick Flicks", and I won't disagree, although some of her films work much better for members of both sexes than others. "While You Were Sleeping" is an entertaining film for Guys and Dolls, and it works in repeated viewings. Sandra portrays Lucy Moderatz, who takes tolls on the L train in Chicago and from afar has an obsessive crush on the handsome, well-dressed Peter Callaghan, played by Peter Gallagher. The audience must willingly accept that someone as likable and attractive as Sandra Bullock is stuck in a dead-end job where she is lonely and works all the holidays because, after all, she doesn't have anyone to share them with. The movie doesn't give you much time to dwell on this because before you know it, Peter is getting mugged and knocked off Lucy's train station platform where he falls unconscious onto the path of a rapidly approaching train. Not surprisingly, Lucy jumps down and pulls the man of her dreams to safety. Lucy then follows the comatose Peter to the hospital where a nurse overhears Lucy in one of her daydreams say "this is the man I'm going to marry" - which naturally leads the nurse to think that Lucy and Peter are engaged when, in fact, the only words that have passed between them are when Peter paused to say "Merry Christmas" as he dropped his token into Lucy's toll booth. Peter's wonderful family arrives and the misunderstanding of Lucy as Peter's fiancee is perpetuated. Lucy could have cleared up the whole misunderstanding from the first moments but: 1. Peter's family is wonderful and Lucy is lonely. 2. Peter's grandmother has a "heart condition" and Lucy fears that telling the truth may send Grandma over the edge. (The screenwriters were clearly searching for a reason for Lucy to not just fess up....) 3. Since Lucy has been fantasizing about Peter for awhile it's not that difficult for her to pretend to be his fiancee. I've heard Roger Ebert say it's not as important *what* a movie is about as *how* the movie is about that thing. This movie would be doomed to failure if it were only about some pathetic toll-taker who pretends to be engaged to her dream-boat to his family while he's in a coma. But Lucy isn't pathetic - she's as likable and attractive as, well, Sandra Bullock, and Peter's family is full of charming, likable folks. Peter, as things would have it, isn't as charming as Lucy dreamt. Although he used to be in the family business of antique furniture, he went to law school and now barely keeps in touch with his family. He has a bitchy girlfriend who is in Europe leaving calls on his answering machine while he is in a coma - one of the calls tells him "yes, I'll marry you". Again - it's not difficult to guess where much of this is going. Bill Pullman plays Peter's charming, easy-going brother, Jack, who has stayed close to the family, running Dad's business. (There is an extremely well-done low-key scene close to the end where Jack tells Dad, played by Peter Boyle, that he wants to MAKE furniture instead of just dealing it - which will mean getting out of the family business. The scene has both a ring of authenticity, not yielding to any histrionic cliches, and at the same time maintaining the warm feelings that you've built up for both of these characters by this portion of the movie. These kinds of scenes *make* this movie.) Jack Warden gets special kudos from me as Peter's godfather, Saul, who loves his godson, but also comes to love Lucy as well. Michael Rispoli steals a few scenes as "Joe, Jr." the son of Lucy's landlord. In the early scenes Joe comes across as a shorter, heavier Andrew Dice Clay wannabe. But by the end even Joe has become someone deserving our admiration. This is the kind of movie where you want nice things to happen to the characters - and the movie goes about it's business in a very satisfying way.

One of my favorite movies

Very enjoyable! Romance with a twist. Sandra Bullock is always a plus.

It’s a cute and funny movie, saw it years ago.

A wonderful romantic comedy with a great cast of actors!

I knew this film was great when my husband sat through the entire film with me and genuinely enjoyed it. Lucy is a lonely young woman living in the big city with her pet cat. For a living, she sits in a booth day after day and collects tolls. One day, she sees a tall, dark handsome man (Peter) who seems to resemble her now dead father. She falls in love with him but he's oblivious to her. Because Lucy lives alone, her boss gets her to work Christmas Day. Amazingly, the man of her dreams rushes by on the Holiday, drops some coins in her booth, and wishes her a merry Christmas. It happened so fast that poor Lucy never even got the chance to speak to her would-be lover. As fate would have it, though, he ends up getting mugged and is pushed onto the tracks in front of an oncoming train. Lucy bolts from her booth and jumps onto the tracks. As she lies on top of him, she rolls him and herself out of the path of the oncoming train, thus saving his life. At the hospital, the personnel block her from going to him. As they do, she stares through the glass doors at his prone form lying on a gurney and says, "I'm going to marry him." A nearby nurse oversees what happens and hears what Lucy says. When the family arrives, they rush into Peter's room anxious to see how he is doing. Lucy is pointed out to them and they are told that she saved Peter's life. And that's when the nurse tells everyone that Lucy is his fiance - and the fun begins. There's much said about the predictability of this film. Whether you feel it is predictable or not, it's handled in such a way that you're anxious to see the story unfold and to watch how everything turns out. Sandra Bullock gives a terrific performance as the sweet, lonely, and lovable Lucy; Bill Pullman plays, Jack, Peter's brother. A cast of great character actors make up Peter's family. I honestly believe it's the combined performance of the stellar cast that make this film so memorable. If you're thirsting for something wholesome, funny, and that doesn't get old with repeated viewings, then this is the movie for you! You won't regret it!