While You Were Sleeping

About a month ago, Lexie and I watched Lost Highway. Maybe someday I'll attempt to write about it, but NOT TODAY. The point is, I learned something about myself when I watched Lost Highway. For 23 years, I hadn't given Bill Pullman a second thought. Then, at some point during the movie, I realized that he was my dream guy. I'm not sure why. I think it was the jazz sax.

Anyway, as soon as Alex's Matrix pulled out of the Winfrey family drive, I set about rearranging my Netflix queue. The first pick? While You Were Sleeping, starring Mr. Bill Pullman and a young Sandra Bullock.
I can't lie to you: I really enjoyed this movie! It has a plot like every good romantic comedy...implausible at best, completely ludicrous at worst. It goes like this: Sandra Bullock is lonely. The film takes the familiar creative writing workshop adage "Show, Don't Tell" to heart and shows us about 15 different ways Sandra Bullock is a cliche of a lonely person. She works on holidays! She lives alone! Both of her parents are dead! She has a cat! She talks to her cat! It doesn't take a genius (or a romantic comedy scholar like me) to figure out that Sandy's life needs a little shaking up. Luckily for her, her secret crush Peter Gallagher shows up to ride the train one day (did I mention she works at a token booth? Well, she does) and gets pushed onto the tracks by some hoodlums who then run away and are never heard from again. Sandra Bullock immediately springs into action and jumps onto the track. All the while, a train is speeding towards them while deceptively lighthearted music plays and Sandra Bullock says things like, "Please wake up! There's a train coming toward us! It's going very fast!" Like, duh, Sandra Bullock, and also move. Finally she rolls both herself and Peter Gallagher to safety, and that's where her trouble actually begins. Naturally, Peter Gallagher is in a coma, and naturally, a mix-up causes his entire family to believe that Sandra Bullock is his fiancee. Naturally, she is unable to tell them otherwise, because the 1st rule of Romantic Comedy Club is Never Say the Truth! Not even when it would actually be really simple.
Then Peter Gallagher's brother Bill Pullman bursts onto the scene, lookin' like a million bucks in his reversible denim/Carhartt jacket and his all flannel, all the time shirt collection.

She's holding a cat because she's lonely. He's wearing that jacket because it's a damn fine look for him.
I want to be all like, "Ugh, those clothes, right guys? Bill Pullman's jeans were unflattering and that jacket is silly!" But honestly, if I saw Bill Pullman walking around town looking like that (like maybe at the public library is where I would see that look), I would do a double take! He knows what looks good on him, and as far as I'm concerned, if Bill Pullman's got it, Bill Pullman should flaunt it.
While I did love this movie, there were a lot of flaws. Like the idea that Sandra Bullock would ever in any way find Peter Gallagher attractive.

No offense meant to Peter Gallagher, but let's get real.
Would I like this movie if Bill Pullman was not in it? No. But he is, so let's not even think about it. He brings a certain je ne sais quoi to the role...except actually, I DO sais quoi. He growls about half of his words. "I do(growl)n't think you're Pe(growl)ter's type." More actors should growl.
It looks like the movie is on Youtube (in English AND Spanish. Lucky you!). If you've just got a few minutes to spare, maybe try one of the many musical montages that weirdos have created. I do have to say, although she certainly was living in a lonely world, Sandra Bullock was no small town girl.