While You Were Sleeping Reviews

Honestly, I wasn’t sure what to expect from this flick but since I always had a weak spot for Sandra Bullock, I thought I should check it out. At the time, Sandra Bullock just got her breakthrough a year earlier with ‘Speed’ and since this movie was a huge box-office success, it pretty much settled Bullock new A list status, a spot she never lost in the following 20 years. Apparently, it has also received some positive reviews but, honestly, I had a hard time to share the general enthusiasm towards this flick. Basically, the general opinion is that the whole thing was actually not really original and built up with some fairly overused elements but it was made with so much skills and thanks to Sandra Bullock’s charisma, it was a winner. Well, I tend to disagree. Yes, Bullock was as usual really charming and she pretty much carried the whole thing on her shoulders but, personally, I was seriously bored while watching this and I really had a hard to time to care about the characters and what they were going through. Anyway, to conclude, even though it is a rather popular flick, I didn’t like it much and I don’t think it is really worth a look, except maybe if you are a die-hard fan of the genre.

You should never judge a movie by it's title. This is exactly the case with While Your Were Sleeping. Despite the rather awful title, While Your Were Sleeping is a surprisingly charming movie.

Lucy has no family. Few friends. And virtually nothing to look forward to in life except that cute guy (named Peter) who always comes down to the train station, where Lucy works, and buys a ticket for the train, every day. Then one day, Lucy sees Peter mugged and beaten and thrown onto the train tracks. Lucy ends up saving his life, but through a massive miscommunication, Peter's family thinks that Lucy is Peter's fiancee. But instead of explaining things to Peter's family, she begins to enjoy having a family. But things only get more complex as time passes.

While You Were Sleeping is incredibly cheesy, that much is undeniable. But under the hammy premise (that only gets worse as the film goes on), While You Were Sleeping is lots of fun.

While You Were Sleeping plays out like a long I Love Lucy episode. The filmmakers must have realized this too, as the main character is named Lucy, and there's a brief reference to Ricky Ricardo. Amusing twists (some more predictable than others) are inserted to keep filmgoers on their toes. The result is often hilarious.

The best bits of the film are when the whole family is together talking. They're often rambling about random topics until the end of the conversation that may leave you thinking, "What brought that up?" To make it more amusing, each family member is having a completely different conversation with another. I have trouble describing these parts, it's something you'd have to see for yourself.

While You Were Sleeping is very well acted. While there's nothing award-deserving here, the acting feels natural. The characters are memorable, and often funny. Sandra Bullock plays perfectly as a desperate young girl, and Bill Pullman is convincing as a secondary love interest.

The score (composed by Randy Edelman), while sometimes fun (especially during moments of chaos), the score sounds incredibly dated. The music isn't bad, but the dated themes are a little less pleasant than the rest of the score.

While You Were Sleeping manages to overcome it's cheesy premise and cliches. A committed cast and humorous situations makes While You Were Sleeping a fun, if predictable film.

A really sweet movie! Sandra Bullock excels.
"I'm in love with your son, not this one the other one"-Lucy on her day of marriage! ;P
10/10