THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, April 24, 1995 TAG: 9504220040
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E5 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Movie Review
SOURCE: BY MAL VINCENT, MOVIE CRITIC
LENGTH: Medium: 77 lines
THERE IS NOTHING like a pert, new star to save what might otherwise have been an overly cute effort to emanate the box office success of ``Sleepless in Seattle.''
Sandra Bullock, with a feisty but vulnerable presence, is the new star, and she effectively saves ``While You Were Sleeping.''
In the process, she becomes the new screen epitome of the girl moms will most want their sons to bring home.
Bullock has the rare ability to play a doormat but one who is not flat. She plays a poor, lonely thing but not one who has either given up or whines about her predicament. She plays Lucy, an all-alone girl in the cold city of Chicago. She's so alone that she usually gets all the assignments to work on holidays. She's a a token collector for the city transport. At home, Lucy's only companion is a cat.
She's had her eyes set on a handsome businessman, played by the bushy-eyebrowed Peter Gallagher. She sees him every day, on his way to work, but he never notices her. Then, there's the day she saves his life.
He's mugged and thrown onto the train tracks. She, with her stocking cap intact, dives in to save him.
He, though, is in a coma. His family, a blue-collar lot of characters, mistakenly thinks the silent Gallagher is engaged to her. She, perhaps in a fit of momentary fantasy, doesn't bother to correct them. They invite her to share Christmas with them, and suddenly, she has everything she's always wanted - a family who adores her and presents under the tree.
Enter Gallagher's brother, played by Bill Pullman. He's skeptical of this girl, but interested. As she learns more about the snooty ways of the comatose Gallagher, she begins to like the brother better. Since you saw the poster outside the theater, you know what's going to happen. Brother Bill falls for Everygirl Sandy.
Then, all we have to worry about is Gallagher waking up and ruining everything. Will Bill still love Sandy when he finds out she lied in order to insinuate herself into the family?
Thanks to the presence of Bullock, and nothing else, we're willing to stick around to find out.
The family includes such gifted character performers as the bullish Peter Boyle, the delightful Glynis Johns and the warm Jack Warden. They are eager to deliver witty lines - if only they had some to deliver. Still, they effectively suggest the kind of family that would be welcome at Christmastime.
Bullock has the kind of nose that can twitch effortlessly to suggest any kind of suspicion. She's not the conventional beauty but she effectively suggests the kind of Everygirl, next-door type that is, still, no pushover.
Dating fellas are advised to take their girlfriends to this light entry first and then to ``Don Juan DeMarco'' as a sure-fire follow-up. If this double whammy doesn't spark romance, give up and get another date. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
HOLLYWOOD PICTURES COMPANY
Bill Pullman is caught off guard by his attraction to Sandra Bullock
in the romantic comedy ``While You Were Sleeping.''
Graphic
MOVIE REVIEW
``While You Were Sleeping''
Cast: Sandra Bullock, Bill Pullman, Peter Gallagher, Peter Boyle,
Jack Warden, Glynis Johns
Director: Jon Turteltaub
Screenplay: Daniel G. Sullivan, Fredric Lebow
MPAA rating: PG (adult themes, mild language)
Mal's rating: three stars
Locations: Chesapeake Square, Greenbrier in Chesapeake, Military
Circle in Norfolk, Commodore in Portsmouth, Lynnhaven, Pembroke,
Surf-N-Sand in Virginia Beach
by CNB