Sleepless in Seattle (Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan)

It’s nearly ten years since we acquired and watched the classic romantic comedy film ‘Sleepless in Seattle’. So it was more than time to see it again. We had totally forgotten what it was about, but as we watched, some scenes came back to us.

A young-looking Tom Hanks (this was made in 1993) stars as the recently widowed Sam. He’s grieving for his wife, but doing his best to bring up his eight-year-old son Jonah (Ross Malinger). Jonah decides that his dad needs a new wife, so he calls a radio station with a phone-in to a relationships expert.

The host persuades Jonah to let his dad speak. He’s initially reluctant, but eventually starts to talk about how wonderful his marriage to Maggie was, and how much he misses her. Hundreds of women around the country hear this, and either phone in or write to him, as he sounds like a perfect guy…

One of the people who hears the radio show is Annie (Meg Ryan), who has just become engaged to a pleasant (if a tad predictable) guy called Walter (Bill Pullman). She insists she is very happy with him, and loves him deeply, although odd comments from other people make her begin to have a few doubts. And she can’t get Sam out of her mind.

Jonah is very taken with a letter that Annie writes (though she doesn't intend it to be posted). He is not, however, keen on a woman Bill decides to date for a while, and some of their interactions are amusing, and very well done.

It’s a relationship-based story, and is obvious from early in the film how it’s going to end. But it’s quite tricky getting there. For one thing, Sam and Annie live at opposite ends of the United States. Sam’s nickname on the radio show is ‘Sleepless in Seattle’, because that’s where he lives, in Washington state, on the West coast. Annie is a journalist who lives and works in Baltimore, Maryland, on the East coast. She manages to get an assignment enabling her to fly to Seattle, then gets cold feet when she manages to see Sam…

There’s a lot of low-key humour, mostly relating to minor characters, and some excellent comic timing, as one would expect from Tom Hanks. The child playing Jonah is a delight, and their relationship is very believable with some poignant moments as well as some lighter ones. And there’s some tension towards the end, as it appears that Sam and Annie are destined never to find each other.

The pace is excellent, and we enjoyed it very much. The ending is perhaps clichéd, but done well, and we thought it a great film to watch in the Christmas season. I loved the sound track, with lots of old songs, now classics, presumably from the 1990s. 

The rating is PG, and that seems about right to me. There are references to intimacies, and people seen in bed together but they’re fully clothed and nothing untoward happens. One or two mild profanities, no violence at all, and only the mildest tension as the ending is predictable. Having said that, the story as such wouldn’t be of much interest to young children, but Jonah’s significant role might make it appealing to children of around nine or ten and upwards.

Review copyright 2019 Sue's DVD Reviews

My Best Friend's Wedding (Julia Roberts)

We were given the DVD of ‘My Best Friend’s Wedding’ for Christmas eleven years ago, after I had put it on my wishlist. I didn’t have any idea what it was about, but Amazon recommended it and the reviews were mostly positive. We watched it in January 2009, and last night decided it was time to see it again.

With a gap of almost eleven years, we had almost entirely forgotten what the film was about. Julia Roberts stars as Julianne, a woman in her twenties who works for a very likeable gay boss called George (Rupert Everett). Out of the blue, she gets a phone call from her best friend Michael (Dermot Mulroney). She was just thinking about him, realising that they had made a jokey promise to marry each other if neither was wed by the time they were 28 - and that date is fast approaching.

However, Michael is ringing to tell Julianne that he is about to get married to someone else. She’s younger than he is, and he’s quite nervous about it and would like his best friend to be there. Julianne realises that she loves him herself, with more than just the affection of close friends. So she flies to the wedding, purportedly to support him and make friends with the beautiful Kimberley (Cameron Diaz) - but hoping to steal Michael for herself.

It’s not the usual storyline, but it’s very well done. Julianne is really quite unpleasant in some of her methods; she tells herself she’s doing them both a favour, that Kimberley is really too young for Michael and won’t deal with his jet-setting lifestyle. She succeeds in making them both increasingly tense, and while much of it’s amusing, I felt almost uncomfortable at times. I could not remember how the film ended; but by the time it was half-way through I was rooting for Kimberley.

Although some of Julianne’s ideas are quite nasty, the film is tinged with humour. There are some clever pieces of dialogue, some great choreography, and a scene where the two women get into a fight… surrounded by other women, cheering them on. It’s not a deep film, and there wasn’t anything much to ponder at the end; but I thought it an enjoyable, relaxing piece of escapism.

One scene that came back to me, as it developed, was the final one - it would be a spoiler to say what happens, but it gave a positive slant to what might have been a bittersweet conclusion.

The rating is 12 (PG-13 in the US) and I’d say that’s about right. There are inevitable sexual references, and one instance of very strong language, but nothing explicit. There are a few shots of people in scanty clothing or underwear, but no nudity, even partial. There’s no real violence, and I would be happy to show this to teenagers of around fourteen or fifteen, if they were interested in this kind of film.

My husband liked it too, and I would certainly recommend it to anyone who enjoys the light romantic comedy genre.

Review copyright 2019 Sue's DVD Reviews

My Girl (Anna Chlumsky)

Every so often we buy DVDs inexpensively at a church or charity sale, with little idea what they are about. We read the blurb on the back, of course, but that’s not always all that helpful. One such film that we found probably a year or more ago is ‘My Girl’, and we finally sat down to watch it last night.

We were immediately charmed by eleven-year-old Vada (Anna Chlumsky), a confident, friendly girl with what appears to be extreme hypochondria. I had a little trouble understanding her accent at first, but my ears gradually attuned. And I got the gist. She introduces herself by describing several ailments she has suffered, and then tells her father that she’s seriously worried about something else.

Vada’s father Harry (Dan Aykroyd) works as an undertaker and embalmer, and also, apparently, a funeral director. His wife died shortly after Vada was born. In the United States, I gather, coffins are open during the funeral or memorial service, so the person concerned must be made to look good. That includes requiring a make-up expert.

There’s an opening for a new make-up artist, and a young woman called Shelley (Jamie Lee Curtis) applies. She doesn’t at first realise exactly what the job involves, but she’s desperate for work, and takes it on. She lives in a motorhome, and evidently finds Vada’s father quite attractive….

Meanwhile, Vada mostly runs loose outside, cycling or walking with her best friend Thomas J (Macauley Culkin). She doesn’t much like the girls in their class, and puts up with a lot of teasing, but she can take it. She’s the leader in their friendship, but he follows her lead in almost everything. He has quite a protective mother, but he’s allergic to just about everything.

So there are two stories alongside each other, and several other subplots. There’s a growing romance between the adults, and also a maturing in the children’s friendship, although there’s a shocking event which I didn’t see coming. Vada’s hypochondria leads to some amusing scenes, although it reflects some of her deeper fears; she feels a bit neglected by her father, and at first doesn’t like his new relationship.

The acting is excellent, particularly Vada - this was the debut role for Anna Chlumsky, but I would never have guessed. She is perfect in the role. The pace is good, and we found ourselves totally absorbed in the film, sorry when it ended. It’s not a comedy although it’s billed as such; the pivoting event near the end and indeed the setting of the family home rather preclude against it being in that genre. It’s more a coming-of-age story, relationship based, and very moving in places.

It could have been macabre but just falls short of that. I found some of the embalming scenes a tad disturbing, even though not much is seen. And I had to turn my face away during a brief fishing scene. But other than that, I liked the film very much.

It’s rated PG which is about right; there are brief flashes of underwear and a couple of mild innuendoes, but nothing explicit, and no real violence. And as the storyline involves children, it could be seen by older children or teens. Some sensitive children could find it rather upsetting towards the end, however, so it would be best for parents to see it first.

I gather there is a sequel to this, unimaginatively titled 'My Girl 2', so I've put it on my wishlist.

Review copyright 2019 Sue's DVD Reviews