| Overall Grade: | C |
|---|---|
| Violence: | A |
| Sexual Content: | B- |
| Language: | B |
| Drugs/Alcohol: | -- |
| MPAA Rating: | |
| Video Release: |
In-Depth Review
ShareSleepless In Seattle is rated PG:
Tom Hanks stars as Sam Baldwin, a widower who, with his son, is incredibly lonely for his wife. To try and help dad, his son Jonah (played by Ross Malinger) calls a late night radio show psychiatrist, and then puts his dad on the line. Women from coast to coast hear the show, and fall in love with Baldwin, but one in particular is destined to meet him.
p>Sam Baldwin has a hard time sleeping -- too bad he can't rent this film. This is a 105 minute movie that should have been done in 24 with commercials. I don't demand non-stop action in movies, but watching people wallow through a carbon copy plot full of too amazing coincidences and dumb decisions puts me to sleep.This is a love story where the two main characters never come together until the end, and a casual sexual attitude persists, as the supposedly sensitive Baldwin relates sexual activity as a cure for loneliness. (Hard to believe he could have such a strong marriage with such superficial ideas.) As well, his son has inappropriate ideas of what love is about, as he tells his dad about what he has learned watching explicit cable TV.
His son Jonah is a sweet character, and Sam's attitude with him increased my disbelief of Sam's caring personality. Each evening he arrives home to find his son alone, although he occasionally hires a babysitter that looks anything but happy to be there. Sure the guy has to work and he does spend time doing things with his boy, but it seems that film writers hate the hassle of having children properly attended to.
With Meg Ryan playing Annie Reed, the woman destined to find Baldwin, and a rare on screen appearance by Rob Reiner, the main lack of talent here was behind the typewriter. However, Sleepless may cure your insomnia.
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About the Reviewer: Rod Gustafson
Rod Gustafson has worked in various media industries since 1977. He founded Parent Previews in 1993, and today continues to write and broadcast the reviews in newspapers, on radio and (of course) on the Internet. He currently serves as the President of the Alberta Association for Media Awareness, a provincial non-profit society. He also authors a regular column for The Parent's Television Council in Los Angeles. He and his wife Donna have four children.
