Wow, that was a dumb movie

[carbonel]

Last night, I watched While You Were Sleeping. I have no idea why it was on my Netflix queue; someone must have recommended it, I suppose. Possibly because it's set in Chicago; I did do a certain amount of playing spot-the-landmark.

Plot summary here.

I know romantic comedies are supposed to get a certain amount of leeway in terms of unbelievability of plots, but this is one movie where there would be no movie if one person had said, "Wait, you didn't hear me correctly" at the beginning. I think that plotting based on lies piled on misunderstandings piled on lies might be a squick on a par with the way I feel on plots that depend on embarrassment and slapstick.

On the other hand, Sandra Bullock was very pretty to watch, and there were a few good lines, none of which I remember at the moment.

Comments

[smofbabe.livejournal.com]

Yeah, not a big fan of plots where if only all the main characters gathered in a room and stated their name and relationship with everyone else, the movie would be over. OTOH, I sometimes rewatch this one if only for the pleasure of seeing Glynis Johns and watching Bill Pullman play someone competent for a change.

[dreamshark.livejournal.com]

I linked over and read the plot summary and had a hard time making sense of it... despite the fact that I have seen the movie (but long since forgotten it, apparently). It sounds like a heavy-handed romcom parody. But I don't think it was intended as a spoof.

[carbonel]

No, definitely not a spoof.

[cakmpls.livejournal.com]

As I recall (and the plot summary verifies), she was heard correctly. What was correctly heard, however, was interpreted as factual when it wasn't.

I like the movie, partly because I like all the actors.

[carbonel]

Perhaps you aren't hearing me correctly. :)

Yes, the words were literally heard correctly. But I don't think it's reasonable -- except in movies -- for an unrelated person to jump from hearing someone mutter "I was going to marry that man" to womansplaining to everyone else that the speaker was the unconscious man's fiancé. If the nurse had just said, "Wait, you're saying he was your fiancé?" directly to Sandra Bullock's character, there would be no movie.

Since I was thinking about the movie earlier today, I looked up Roger Ebert's review. He gave it three stars, and basically said it was more charming than such a stupid plot had any right to be.

[cakmpls.livejournal.com]

I guess it just doesn't seem as unreasonable to me, for the nurse (or anyone) to do that.

I have waaaay more trouble with dramatic movies and TV shows (and books) in which professionals act so stupidly--in terms of their professional expertise--that I, with no experience in whatever field it is, can spot it. That's what put me off Criminal Minds and the Jack Reacher books.

[thomasyan.livejournal.com]

Ebert's review sounds about right. I remember enjoying the movie when it came out, but I'm not sure how I would receive it now if I hadn't ever seen it before.