While You Were Sleeping: Gives the heart a nice tug
Sandra Bullock plays Lucy, a lonely Chicago Transit Authority fare collector, who has met the guy of her dreams and plans to marry him. Unfortunately for her, Peter, Lucy’s dream guy, doesn’t even give her a second glance. One day, Peter gets mugged and thrown off the tracks. Lucy rushes to save him and brings him to the hospital. He then falls into a coma. A misunderstanding leads Peter’s family to believe that Lucy is Peter’s fiancee, and somehow, Lucy can’t bring herself to tell them the truth. She falls in love with the family, and for the first time in so many years, she feels truly happy. Enter Jack, Peter’s brother, played by Bill Pullman. His doubts on Lucy’s fiancee claim assuaged, Jack rather spends his time getting to know Lucy. As he gets to be acquainted with Lucy, he finds himself falling in love with her. And so does Lucy with him.
Peter wakes up. Naturally, he doesn’t recognize Lucy; the family, however, exclaims he’s got amnesia. When Peter’s godfather, who already knows of Lucy’s secret but refuses to divulge it, has a heart-to-heart talk with Peter, he made his godson realize the importance of a second chance at life and Lucy’s role in it. Thinking this over, Peter proposes a ‘second time’ to Lucy who accepts it. When Jack gives his wedding gift to Lucy, which is a snow globe featuring Florence, Lucy asks him:
Lucy: Can you give me any reason why I shouldn’t marry your brother?
Jack: Oh…I can’t.
On the wedding day, even before the priest gets to the part where he calls out opposition to the marriage, Lucy blurts out that she objects to being married to Peter. Jack objects too, and Peter is thinking of objecting. Baffled, the family asks why. Lucy admits to being in love with Jack instead. The wedding does not take place, and Lucy is back in the token booth. Suddenly, a ring is dropped into the counter and Lucy finds Jack and the whole Callaghan family smiling warmly at her. Jack proposes, Lucy accepts, and for their honeymoon, Jack brings her to Florence.
The plot is not new but you have to commend the way the movie makes you stay glued on the screen. It’s a predictable romantic comedy, but it did not fail to tickle the heart. Maybe it was Sandra Bullock’s oh-so-natural manner in portraying Lucy; or maybe it was Bill Pullman’s charisma…I really don’t know. But this movie grows into you, and before you know it, you’re smiling goofily at Bullock’s and Pullman’s character when the latter proposed. I never realized Bill Pullman could be so charming! This one definitely belongs in my list of favourite romcom movies.
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The Truth About Cats & Dogs: It’s all about wit
Dr. Abby Barnes is a veterinarian who hosts a radio show aptly titled The Truth About Cats & Dogs. She accidentally meets Brian over the phone, when he seeks advice on how to soothe an agitated dog in roller skates. Drawn by her intelligence and soothing voice, Brian asks her out. Abby agrees, but feeling the low self-esteem kicking in, she describes herself as tall, blond, thin: exact opposites of what she really looks like. Abby then stood Brian up. Abby has a neighbour, Noelle, who is a striking model but not so smart. She happens to be in the radio station, on Abby’s seat, when Brian comes up to the station to check on Abby. Brian is smitten – he has found himself a looker with a brain. After Abby explains the situation to Noelle, the latter agrees to help, but inevitably, Noelle falls for Brian. She finds that she couldn’t give him up. The two then vie for his attention via a drinking/photography session. Abby realizes that Brian loves the face, so she gives up the chase. Noelle, on the other hand, misses her best friend, and realizes that she cannot be the woman Brian fell in love with. She gives him up. Brian discovers the fraud, and nurses his hurt feelings away from both girls. Eventually, he realizes he misses Abby, and woos her through his adopted dog, Hank.
I adore Janeane Garofalo, and I simply cannot convince myself that this movie is working on the premise that Garofalo’s character, Abby, is ugly. She is most definitely not; in fact, she exudes charm and wit so strong, it zaps right through the computer screen. She delivers funny one-liners with such finesse, you know she’s made for this. This is her movie; this is her stage. Anyway, that’s the movie’s premise so I guess I just have to deal with it. Having dealt with it, albeit with extreme difficulty, I breezed through the movie. Uma Thurman’s character is a person you cannot hate even if you want her to just drop Brian there and then for Abby. There is a sweetness and poignancy in her that make you want to hug her and assure her that everything’s alright. Brian, played by Ben Chaplin, is charming; but of course he would be, what with his accent. It’s a cute, light, and witty romantic comedy.
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Wimbledon: A bit fast for my liking
Peter Colt gets a chance at the Wimbledon, being chosen as a wild card. He has made up his mind, however, that whatever the outcome of the championships, which he thinks is more on the losing side, he will retire from the profession. Lizzie Bradbury, on the other hand, is on top of her game, with her mind set on only one thing – winning. The two accidentally meet when The Dorchester inadvertently gives to Peter the key to Lizzie’s suite. Teasingly, Lizzie invites Peter to a “research” and what is to be a light, fun, no-commitment tryst ends up in a love affair, at least for Peter. Peter then rediscovers his winning form when he suddenly realizes that he has fallen for Lizzie. Meanwhile, Lizzie’s focus is shaken and it takes her a lose at the semi-finals to discover that winning isn’t everything. Peter ends up winning the Wimbledon, marrying Lizzie, having kids with her, and teaching tennis at the club. Lizzie goes on to win two Wimbledon later in her career.
At the onset, I have to assume that Lizzie is a character who likes to live in the fast lane when it comes to relationships. How else would I digest the fact that she proposes “research” with Peter whom she met for the first time? Anyway, that’s what happens in this movie. To give justice to the speed into which both end up in bed, the two eventually end up in love. My only problem is this: I do not see love element coming. It’s like the movie has gone on a fast forward and the next scene I encounter is Peter getting all mushy with Lizzie. It would have been a nice plot except that I ended up seeing no plot at all. Much too fast for plot build-up.
What the heck…Paul Bettany was kind of charming.
