Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, June 26, 1993 TAG: 9306260082
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: B-10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By MIKE MAYO CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The story's premise - two strangers who are meant for each other - is as old as storytelling. But the key that opens the plot could hardly be more contemporary. These characters learn about each other through a coast-to-coast radio call-in show.
Sam Baldwin (Tom Hanks) is a widower. A year and a half after his wife's death, he's still numb to the world. He and his bright young son, Jonah (Ross Malinger), have moved from Chicago to Seattle where he has immersed himself in work, but his emotional loss remains overwhelming. Jonah understands his father's pain but can't help him. That's why he calls radio self-help psychologist Dr. Marcia Fieldstone (Caroline Aaron).
She persuades Jonah to put his father on the line. Without really understanding what he's doing, Sam tries to explain his feelings and his inability to do anything about them. A continent away, driving from Baltimore to Washington, D.C., Annie Reed (Meg Ryan) hears "Sleepless in Seattle." Like thousands of other women in the listening audience, she's touched. But for Annie, this isn't an idle fancy.
Even though she's engaged to Walter (Bill Pullman), a well-meaning vanilla lump of a fellow, she can't forget "Sleepless." Because she's an enterprising reporter with a compliant editor (Rosie O'Donnell), she sets out to meet this lonely stranger.
The mechanics of the plot by Jeff Ward, David S. Ward and director Nora Ephron are unusual and engaging. How are these far-flung characters going to be brought together? Can the film maintain a romantic spark if they're thousands of miles apart? Yes, the story is contrived, but that doesn't matter. So was "An Affair to Remember," the Cary Grant-Deborah Kerr tear-jerker that's a constant reference point for the characters.
The casting couldn't be better. The leading roles have been carefully crafted for the stars' talents. Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks are two of the most likeable actors in the business today, and that's their appeal here. This isn't a story of burning passions. It's about intelligent, attractive characters that audiences enjoy spending time with.
In well-developed supporting roles, Rosie O'Donnell is almost as good as she was in "A League of Their Own." Rita Wilson has a wonderful scene explaining why women love "An Affair to Remember" and guys just don't get it. And young Gaby Hoffmann, as Jonah's pal Jessica, is a delightful discovery.
Unfortunately, Nora Ephron almost sabotaged herself when she chose the film's music. She seems to have fallen in love with half a dozen or so sentimental jazz-pop standards, from Nat King Cole's "Stardust" to Harry Connick Jr.'s "A Wink and a Smile." There's nothing wrong with that, but she uses them to hammer home the desired emotional response in every big scene. At the beginning of the film, it's merely annoying. Toward the end it becomes heavy-handed and intrusive.
On balance though, "Sleepless in Seattle" rises above the musical overkill. It's a satisfying love story that should find an appreciative audience in this season of loud blockbusters.
Sleepless in Seattle: ***
A TriStar release playing at the Salem Valley 8. 100 min. Rated PG for subject matter.
by CNB