Have you had the experience of telling someone that you have not seen a certain film only to be responded to with a look of shock and, in some instances, embarrassment for you?  How could you have missed out on fill-in-the-blank?!  I have seen a lot of films, but there are still some that have escaped me.  It is part of why I wanted to start The Legionnaire in the first place.  If nothing else, I can have a legitimate excuse for viewing those odd motion pictures for the first time as part of my quest to see every movie.  Today, I bring you an example of what I am talking about so far in this review in Sleepless in Seattle (1993).  Now that I have seen it, I must say that it bears a lot of similarities in cast and plot to You’ve Got Mail (1998).  That is okay, for me anyway.  Sleepless in Seattle is cute enough to recommend it on its own merit.

I just used the word “cute” in talking about Sleepless in Seattle.  This might confuse you if you read this before watching it.  It starts with the funeral of Maggie Baldwin (Carey Lowell) and in Chicago.  She was the wife of Samuel “Sam” Baldwin (Tom Hanks), and is also survived by her young son Jonah (Ross Malinger).  He does not know entirely what to do in the wake of this tragedy despite help from co-workers, family, and friends.  Whatever it is, he feels he can no longer live in the Windy City where every street reminds him of Maggie.  Thus, he moves with Jonah to Seattle.  On the other side of the country is Annie Reed (Meg Ryan).  She lives in Baltimore with her fiancé Walter Jackson (Bill Pullman). After going to Christmas dinner with Annie’s family, they are going to drive down separately to Washington D.C. to spend time with Walter’s parents.  During the ride, Annie flips through radio stations until she lands on a little boy calling into one of those late-night talk shows hosted by psychologist Dr. Marcia Fieldstone (voiced by Caroline Aaron).  It turns out to be Jonah.  It has been a year-and-a-half since Maggie’s passing, and he believes it is time for Sam to find him a new mother.  Dr. Fieldstone insists that Jonah put Sam on, to which he reluctantly agrees.  Once on the line, Sam opens up about how great was Maggie.  Annie is moved to tears by the story.  So, too, is half of America.  Because Jonah had given out their address, Sam begins receiving letters from women across the country wanting him to be his next somebody.  Sam does his best to ignore the deluge of missives.  Yet, it does suggest to him that perhaps he is ready to start dating once more.  At the prompting of one of his co-workers, he contacts Victoria (Barbara Garrick), who had been a former client.  Jonah does not like Victoria, and it is not just because of her high-pitched laughter.  Among those who had written to Sam is Annie.  Actually, she had not been the one to send the letter.  This had actually been done by Annie’s boss, Becky (Rosie O’Donnell).  Part of the reason for her bold action here is because she had been witnessing Annie become more interested in Sam.  It had also been Becky who had prompted Annie to write a story for their newspaper, the Baltimore Sun, owing to the nation-wide attention that Sam’s conversation with Dr. Fieldstone had generated.  Thus, Annie’s attentions are becoming divided as she struggles with her growing feelings for a man she has never met, while at the same time being engaged to Walter.  There is nothing wrong with Walter, other than his severe allergies, I suppose.  There is a lot in here about fate and signs that I will get into in the next paragraph.  For now, know that these are a feature of her conflicting emotions.  Meanwhile, to Jonah’s disgust, Sam’s relationship with Victoria lasts beyond the first date.  All the while, Jonah is insisting to his dad that Annie is the one.  Speaking of Annie, she decides that she is going to fly to Seattle to meet Sam.  Ostensibly, this is for research for the story.  Really, though, she wants to see if everything she had been feeling for this man is true.  They only see each other once, coming on the heels of Sam and Victoria embracing, before Annie decides to return to Baltimore having just said hello.  It was a meaningful hello.  However, it is enough for her to convince her that Walter is right for her, and this soon sees her flying to New York City for a planned Valentine’s Day rendezvous.  Speaking of Valentine’s Day, part of the letter she had written to Sam mentioned them meeting at the top of the Empire State Building on the same date, a nod to her favorite film, An Affair to Remember (1957).  This is a detail that did not escape Jonah’s notice.  With the help of one of his precocious friends, he manages to book a flight to the Big Apple, determined to fulfill the letter’s wish himself.  When Sam insists that he is going to spend the holiday with Victoria, it makes his decision for him all the more urgent.  As such, on the day that Sam is supposed to leave, he cannot find his son.  That is because Jonah is flying cross country.  Of course, Sam hurriedly does the same, and finds the kid sitting on the Empire State Building’s observation deck.  It is with a view of that same structure that Annie is sitting with Walter.  When she sees it, she thinks of An Affair to Remember and what she wrote Sam.  Then the building is lit up with a heart.  There is a brief goodbye to the good-natured Walter, and she is off to the landmark.  She gets to the top, but finds Jonah’s backpack.  Jonah and Sam had already left, but when they return to retrieve the bag, they encounter Annie.  The rest, as they say, is history.

There is a lot to like about Sleepless in Seattle, even if I did not approve of Sam’s parenting method.  I have no child of my own, but it seems odd to leave an eight-year-old at home by himself.  There is also the inordinate amount of stuff the kid seems to know about sex.  It is that subject, though, that is treated well in the film.  Catholicism, and Christianity in general, teaches that this should be saved for marriage.  If this is news to you, then perhaps you have not read many reviews on this blog?  Yet, it seems to be the focus of practically any modern relationship, particularly as they appear on film.  Heck, there are many cinematic instances when the two engaging in adult intimacy are not actively seeking to date one another.  Bear in mind that these films are labeled as “romantic comedies.”  They believe that in order to get people these days interested, they have to have our couples trying to get into each other’s pants.  It is a symptom of the sad confusion between love and sex.  The carnal act is not something with which to trifle, and in the wrong context, can lead to a whole host of problems.  You do not need to watch films to understand the truth of this statement.  This is why a film like this one should be celebrated.  Granted, they live on opposite coasts and we only get to see them together for a few minutes before the movie ends.  Yet, they fall in love in a more old-fashioned way, a manner more befitting of how a Christian marriage counselor would envision this happening.  This should be appreciated.

I like Meg Ryan in Sleepless in Seattle, and pretty much anything else that I can think of in which I have seen her. Unfortunately, it does not look like she has been doing much lately.  Come back, Meg Ryan!  You still have much to offer!  In the meantime, you can always watch this one, particularly since it is currently on Netflix.