Charity's Place.com

WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING

REVIEWED BY CHARITY BISHOP

Our rating: 4 out of 5

Because of: language, crude humor

Rated:

When Lucy was a child, her dad used to tell her life doesn't always turn out the way you plan it. He wasn't joking. After her father's death, Lucy (Sandra Bullock) finds herself on the end of a low-paying job taking tokens at the subway. She works every holiday, is virtually alone, and has no love life. Her life is in ruin... until one day the most stunning, breathtaking, crush-worthy guy passes through the line. Lucy knows her life will never be the same. She dreams of the day she'll get up the confidence to say hello, to introduce herself, to compliment him on that gorgeous double-breasted pinstripe suit. But until then she returns home to her cat... and Joe Jr., the obnoxious, single son of her landlord who has marked her as a "future date." Dodging his poor intentions and generally hoping for better things, Lucy misses her single opportunity to introduce herself to Mr. Right.

It's a Christmas morning and Lucy is the only one on duty at the token booth. Her husband-to-be, whose real name is Peter Callaghan (Peter Gallagher), says Merry Christmas to her on his way through. As she watches him walk away, she beats her head against the booth for not replying. Watching him stride down the platform, Lucy is horrified when he's accosted by a pair of pickpockets who shove Peter off the platform and onto the tracks. Abandoning her worthless position in the booth, Lucy races down and leaps onto the tracks. But her would-be husband is out cold. Frantically she attempts to revive him, winds up saving his life, and delivers the unconscious Peter to the hospital.

Once there, a hilarious mistaken identity problem winds her up in his hospital room just in time for his less-than-sane family to arrive. And the worst of it is... the nurse leads them to believe that Lucy is Peter's fiancée! She's desperate to straighten out the mess but is terrified to say anything since his grandmother has a bad heart. Peter's Godfather Saul thanks her for saving granny's life by being such a sweet, kind, beautiful and sympathetic friend. Lucy decides to carry on the charade for as long as she can and manages to fool all but Peter's brother Jack (Bill Pullman)... who senses something array with his brother's latest fling.

But could it be that Jack's mistrust is due to jealousy? And when the two are unintentionally thrown together, the one obstacle in their path is an unconscious man who cannot tell the truth. A charming mixture of comedy and romance, While You Were Sleeping is a beautiful film with some excellent lessons to teach in responsibility, trust in relationships, and remaining faithful to your intended. It manages to convey the hilarity of family problems, the sadness of being alone, and the truth about lasting romance while painting Peter's world of extra-marital affairs and seeming "perfection" in vivid colors. It's not Peter, Mr. Save-the-World who the audience eventually falls in love with. It's the oftentimes charming Jack who is trying so desperately not to commit a moral sin by stepping in on his brother's territory. And frankly this is the role that introduced the world to Sandra Bullock and her everlasting innocence.

True, the film does have its faults -- namely some abuse of God's name and a few instances of crude humor. One such scene proves embarrassing when Jack insists Lucy prove she's Peter's fiancée and she makes a painful remark about a private part of his anatomy, which much be investigated by his mother (not seen) to prove it. But it does gain a few laughs later thanks to Grandma, who provides the honest, down-to-earth comedy the film uses as a rudder. Joe Jr. makes a few offhanded remarks to Lucy about her underwear; it's revealed later Peter was involved with a married woman, who calls him a blush-worthy name in the hospital.

It's also home to some of the most hilarious movie moments in history. The family dinner where everyone's talking about something different. The infamous couch scene in Peter's apartment. The icy sidewalk (a personal favorite of mine). It also has some downright witty dialogue and a truly memorable climax. The flaws don't override the sweetness.