While You Were Sleeping is a 1995
romantic comedy filmRomantic comedy films are films with light-hearted, humorous plotlines, centered on romantic ideals such as that true love is able to surmount most obstacles. One dictionary definition is "a funny movie, play, or television program about a love story that ends happily"...
directed by
Jon TurteltaubJonathan Charles "Jon" Turteltaub is an American film director and producer. He is a graduate of Wesleyan University and the USC School of Cinematic Arts...
and written by
Daniel G. SullivanDaniel G. Sullivan is an American screenwriter. He co-wrote the screenplay for While You Were Sleeping with Frederic Lebow, but while it was acclaimed by many it did not receive any awards.-External links:...
and
Frederic LebowFrederic Lebow is an American screenwriter. He co-wrote the screenplay for While You Were Sleeping with Daniel G. Sullivan, but while it was acclaimed by many it did not receive any awards. He also had a minor role in the 1991 B-movie Chopper Chicks in Zombietown. He currently resides in Long...
. It stars
Sandra BullockSandra Annette Bullock is an Academy Award winning American actress and producer who rose to fame in the 1990s after roles in successful films such as Demolition Man, Speed, The Net, A Time to Kill, and While You Were Sleeping. She continued with films such as Miss Congeniality, The Lake House,...
as Lucy, a
Chicago Transit AuthorityChicago Transit Authority, also known as CTA, is the operator of mass transit within the City of Chicago, Illinois and some of its surrounding suburbs....
tokenIn the study of numismatics, tokens are coin-like objects used instead of coins. The field of tokens is part of exonumia. Tokens are used in place of coins and either have a denomination shown or implied by size, color or shape...
collector and
Bill PullmanWilliam James "Bill" Pullman is an American film, television, and stage actor. Pullman made his film debut in the supporting role of Earl Mott in the 1986 film Ruthless People. He has since gone on to star in other films, including Spaceballs, Independence Day, Lost Highway, Casper and Scary Movie 4...
as Jack, the brother of a man whose life she saves, along with
Peter GallagherPeter Killian Gallagher is an American actor, musician and writer. Since 1980, Gallagher has played many roles in numerous Hollywood films. He starred as Sandy Cohen in the television drama series The O.C. from 2003 to 2007...
as Peter, the man who is saved, and
Peter BoylePeter Lawrence Boyle, Jr. was an American actor, best known for his role as Frank Barone on the sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond, and as a comical monster in Mel Brooks' film spoof Young Frankenstein ....
,
Glynis JohnsGlynis Johns is a South African-born Welsh stage and film actress, dancer, pianist and singer . With a career spanning seven decades, Johns is often cited as the "complete actress", who happens to be a trained pianist and singer...
, Micole Mercurio, and
Jack WardenJack Warden was an American character actor.-Early life:Warden was born John Warden Lebzelter in Newark, New Jersey, the son of Laura M. and John Warden Lebzelter, who was an engineer and technician. He was of Irish and Pennsylvania Dutch ancestry...
as members of Peter's family.
Plot
Lucy Moderatz (Bullock) is a lonely
tokenIn the study of numismatics, tokens are coin-like objects used instead of coins. The field of tokens is part of exonumia. Tokens are used in place of coins and either have a denomination shown or implied by size, color or shape...
collector on the
Chicago Transit AuthorityChicago Transit Authority, also known as CTA, is the operator of mass transit within the City of Chicago, Illinois and some of its surrounding suburbs....
who has a secret crush on a handsome commuter named Peter Callaghan (Gallagher). On
ChristmasChristmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
day, she rescues him from an oncoming train after a mugger pushes him onto the tracks. He falls into a coma, and she accompanies him to the hospital, where a nurse overhears her musing aloud, "I was going to marry him." Misinterpreting her, the nurse tells his family that she is his fiancée. At first she is too caught up in the panic to explain the truth. She winds up keeping the secret for a number of reasons: she is embarrassed, Elsie (Peter's grandmother) has a heart condition, and she quickly comes to love being a part of Peter's big and loving family.
With no family and few friends, Lucy becomes so captivated with the quirky Callaghans and their unconditional love for her that she cannot bring herself to hurt them by revealing that Peter doesn't even know her. She spends a belated Christmas with them and then meets his younger brother Jack (Pullman), who has taken over his father's furniture business. He is suspicious of her at first, but he falls in love with her as they spend time together. They develop a close friendship and soon after she falls in love with him as well.
After New Years Eve, Peter wakes up. He has no memory of Lucy, but by this time his family has become so convinced of the engagement story that they assume he must have
amnesiaLacunar amnesia is the loss of memory about one specific event. It is a type of amnesia that leaves a lacuna in the record of memory.According to Steven Johnson, :...
. Not knowing how to tell them the truth, Lucy confides in his and Jack's
godfatherA godparent, in many denominations of Christianity, is someone who sponsors a child's baptism. A male godparent is a godfather, and a female godparent is a godmother...
Saul, a kindly old man who believes that she belongs in the family. She and Peter spend time together, but she has already fallen in love with Jack. Saul persuades Peter to propose to her "again", and she agrees despite her feelings for Jack. When he visits her the day before the wedding, she gives him a chance to change her mind, asking him if he can give her a reason not to marry Peter. He replies that he can't and pushes the door out in anger, leaving her disappointed.
On the day of the wedding, just as the priest begins the ceremony, Lucy finally confesses everything and tells the family she is in love with Jack rather than Peter. Ashley Bartlett Bacon, Peter's real fiancée (who happens to be married herself), also arrives to stop the wedding. As the family argues, Lucy slips out unnoticed, unsure of her future.
Some time later, as Lucy collects tokens from passengers at the train station, Jack places an engagement ring in the token tray of her booth. With the entire Callaghan family watching, he walks into the toll booth and proposes to her. In the last scenes of the film, they kiss at the end of their wedding, then leave on a train for their honeymoon. She narrates that he fulfilled her dream of going to
Florence, ItalyFlorence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
, and explains that, when Peter asked when she fell in love with Jack, she replied, "it was while you were sleeping."
Cast
- Sandra Bullock
Sandra Annette Bullock is an Academy Award winning American actress and producer who rose to fame in the 1990s after roles in successful films such as Demolition Man, Speed, The Net, A Time to Kill, and While You Were Sleeping. She continued with films such as Miss Congeniality, The Lake House,...
as Lucy Moderatz, a young woman who lives in Chicago. Her mother died when she was an infant, and her father had died a year prior to the events in the film.
- Peter Gallagher
Peter Killian Gallagher is an American actor, musician and writer. Since 1980, Gallagher has played many roles in numerous Hollywood films. He starred as Sandy Cohen in the television drama series The O.C. from 2003 to 2007...
as Peter Callaghan, a successful lawyer who uses the subway station Lucy works at
- Bill Pullman
William James "Bill" Pullman is an American film, television, and stage actor. Pullman made his film debut in the supporting role of Earl Mott in the 1986 film Ruthless People. He has since gone on to star in other films, including Spaceballs, Independence Day, Lost Highway, Casper and Scary Movie 4...
as Jack Callaghan, Peter's brother
- Micole Mercurio as Midge Callaghan, Peter's mother
- Peter Boyle
Peter Lawrence Boyle, Jr. was an American actor, best known for his role as Frank Barone on the sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond, and as a comical monster in Mel Brooks' film spoof Young Frankenstein ....
as Ox Callaghan, Peter's father
- Monica Keena
Monica C. Keena is an American actress, known for her roles as Abby Morgan on Dawson's Creek, Rachel Lindquist on the short-lived comedy Undeclared, Kristin on HBO's Entourage, and as Lori Campbell in Freddy vs. Jason....
as Mary Callaghan, Peter's sister
- Glynis Johns
Glynis Johns is a South African-born Welsh stage and film actress, dancer, pianist and singer . With a career spanning seven decades, Johns is often cited as the "complete actress", who happens to be a trained pianist and singer...
as Elsie, Peter's grandmother
- Jack Warden
Jack Warden was an American character actor.-Early life:Warden was born John Warden Lebzelter in Newark, New Jersey, the son of Laura M. and John Warden Lebzelter, who was an engineer and technician. He was of Irish and Pennsylvania Dutch ancestry...
as Saul, Peter's godfather
- Jason Bernard
Jason Bernard was an American actor who starred in movies and on television.-Career:Bernard was born in Chicago, Illinois...
as Jerry Wallace, Lucy's friend and coworker whom she relies on for advice
- Michael Rispoli
Michael Rispoli is an American character actor. He was formerly part of the HBO television series The Sopranos as Jackie Aprile, Sr...
as Joe Fusco Jr., the swarthy, heavyset son of Lucy's landlord
- Ally Walker
Allene Damian "Ally" Walker is an American actress, producer, director and screenwriter.She is best known for her roles as Doctor Samantha Waters on the NBC crime drama series Profiler , as Agent June Stahl on the FX drama series Sons of Anarchy and as Gloria Shepherd in the Lifetime drama...
as Ashley Bartlett Bacon, Peter's fiancée
Location
Part of the movie was filmed at the
Lake Point TowerLake Point Tower is a high-rise residential building located on a promontory of the Lake Michigan lakefront in downtown Chicago, just north of the Chicago River at 505 North Lake Shore Drive. It is located in the Streeterville neighborhood of the Near North Side community area...
building.
State/Lake StationState/Lake is an 'L' station serving the CTA's Brown, Green, Orange, Pink, and Purple Lines. It is an elevated station with two side platforms, located in the Chicago Loop at 200 North State Street...
was used for exterior shots of the 'L'.
Response
The film was a tremendous success, grossing a total of $182,057,016 worldwide against an estimated $17,000,000 budget. It made $9,288,915 on its opening weekend of April 21-23, 1995. It was the fifteenth-highest grosser of
1995-Top grossing films:-Events:* March 22 - The Dogme 95 movement is officially announced in Paris by Danish directors Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg.* March 28 - Actress Julia Roberts and singer Lyle Lovett announce their plans for separation....
in the United States. This film, along with
Speed, are credited as having launched
Sandra BullockSandra Annette Bullock is an Academy Award winning American actress and producer who rose to fame in the 1990s after roles in successful films such as Demolition Man, Speed, The Net, A Time to Kill, and While You Were Sleeping. She continued with films such as Miss Congeniality, The Lake House,...
into stardom.
While You Were Sleeping was a critical success.
Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
reported that 85% of critics gave the film positive reviews.
Bullock received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical - Motion Picture.
International Remakes
The
HindiStandard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
film
Har Dil Jo Pyar KaregaHar Dil Jo Pyar Karega is a 2000 Bollywood film directed by Raj Kanwar. The film stars Salman Khan, Preity Zinta and Rani Mukerji. It received moderate box office status...
and Malayalam movie
ChandralekhaChandralekha is a 1997 Malayalam film written and directed by Priyadarshan and produced by Fazil. Audiences were ecstatic on seeing the energetic performance of Mohanlal and counted this as his comeback film. This also brought back the old successful combo of Mohanlal and Sreenivasan, which was...
borrow the plot of
While You Were Sleeping.
External links