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Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan, Bill Pullman, Ross Malinger, Rosie O'Donnell ... see more see more... , Gaby Hoffmann , Victor Garber , Rita Wilson , Barbara Garrick , Carey Lowell , Rob Reiner , Caroline Aaron , Sidney Armus , Michael Badalucco , Frances Conroy , Le Chance DuRand , Tom Riis Farrell , Dana Ivey , Philip Levy , Brian McConnachie , Victor Morris , Kevin O'Morrison , David Hyde Pierce , La Tanya Richardson , Diane Sokolow , Sarah Trigger , Linda Wallem , Tom McGowan , John Boylan , Hannah Cox , Julie Janney , Rich Hawkins , Juliet Taylor , Jeff Mazzola , Tom Tammi , Calvin Trillin , Donald J Lee Jr , Matt Smith

Sleepless in Seattle, the sophomore directorial effort from Nora Ephron, is a light romantic comedy inspired by the 1957 film An Affair to Remember. Tom Hanks stars as widower and single father Sam. W... read more read more...hen Sam's son, Jonah (Ross Malinger), calls into a talk radio program looking for a new mother, Sam ends up getting on the phone and laments about his lost love. Thousands of miles away, Annie (Meg Ryan) hears the program and immediately falls in love with Sam, despite the fact that she has never met him and that she is engaged to humdrum Walter (Bill Pullman). Believing they are meant to be together, Annie sets out for Seattle to meet Sam, who, meanwhile, contends with an onslaught of letters from available women equally touched by his phone call. Rosie O'Donnell, Rita Wilson, and Rob Reiner also star. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi

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75% liked it

273,797 ratings

Critics

71% liked it

45 critics

PG, 1 hr. 45 min.

Directed by: Nora Ephron

Release Date: June 25, 1993

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DVD Release Date: June 26, 1997

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Stats: 11,390 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (11,390)

  • fb100002311865898
    October 17, 2011
    fb100002311865898
    Sleepless in Seattle is one of the most fantastic movies i've ever watched.It really hit me somewhere in my heart.We may fall in love all of a sudden.There is no reason for this.And neither do we need.Love is just like magic.Love has it all.
  • DreamExtractor
    August 15, 2011
    DreamExtractor
    Cheesy rom com, I dont understand how its so popular, still some funny momest though and not all that bad.
  • xXGiNoBiLiPRXx
    July 9, 2011
    xXGiNoBiLiPRXx
    What if someone you never met, someone you never saw, someone you never knew was the only someone for you?

    Good solid movie. The story although very rare was pretty good and the chemistry between Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks in all 3 movies they have been on including this one has bee... read moren great, almost perfect. If you're a romantic sucker you'll love this one.

    After his wife Maggie passes away, Sam Baldwin and his adolescent son Jonah relocate from Chicago to Seattle to escape the grief associated with Maggie's death. Eighteen months later, Sam is still grieving and can't sleep. Although Jonah misses his mother, he wants his father to get a new wife despite Sam having not even contemplated dating again. On Christmas Eve, Sam, on Jonah's initiative, ends up pouring his heart out on a national radio talk show about his magical and perfect marriage to Maggie, and how much he still misses her. Among the many women who hears Sam's story and falls in love with him solely because of it is Annie Reed, a Baltimore based newspaper writer. Annie's infatuation with Sam's story and by association Sam himself is despite being already engaged. But Annie's relationship with her straight-laced fiancé Walter is unlike her dream love life in the movie An Affair to Remember (1957). She even writes to Sam proposing they meet atop the Empire State Building on Valentine's Day. Back in Seattle, Sam has received hundreds of letters from women wanting to meet him. Jonah is excited by one letter in particular from Baltimore and will do whatever he needs to to get his father and Annie together. However, old fashioned Sam wants his future love life to be based on meeting a woman the traditional way, and he, in turn, becomes infatuated with an unknown woman he spots a few times in Seattle. Will magic happen twice in Sam's life, and if so will it be with this unknown woman or Annie?
  • murphmann93
    June 24, 2011
    murphmann93
    Another great classic!
  • blkbomb
    May 7, 2011
    blkbomb
    Decent movie, but both Hanks and Ryan have had better romantic comedies. Also the little kid is annoying as hell.
  • movieguru12
    July 2, 2010
    movieguru12
    One of my absolute favorite Tom Hanks movies.. It's just so sweet & romantic & I love it :) A much watch :)
  • TheMachinist
    May 18, 2010
    TheMachinist
    "It was like... magic."

    Remembering Tom Hanks' career, my first memories of him was him being a lead in comedies and romantic films.'Big', 'Dragnet', 'Turner and Hooch' etc. Good films but nothing special anyways. 1993 was the year when everything changed... 'Sleepless in Seattl... read moree' came out but I'm not saying that this film changed it all. It was another '93 film called 'Philadelphia' that would win him his first Oscar. But that's another review...

    So, focusing on 'Sleepless in Seattle' now. First of all, I'm not a big fan of romantic comedies, or romantic films. They seem to be predictable with some exceptions. 'Sleepless in Seattle' is not one of the later ones but manages to be somewhat different from the masses.

    The story of the film is kinda beautiful but it's hard to believe that this would actually happen in real life. Two persons, never talked to each other, never spent time with each other, just happen to fall in love before even saying a proper "hello". Yes, I know... Movie magic. And it actually functions well!

    'Sleepless in Seattle' has several good moments but some minor things caused me to dislike the film a bit. For instance, Meg Ryan's characters actions in her relationship, Tom Hanks' characters kid... Not fittin here properly. Bad acting maybe?

    The supporting cast does a really good job here. Rob Reiner, Rosie O'Donnell and Bill Pullman. Their characters happen to be a lot more interesting then the leads and bring some depth to the movie.

    'Sleepless in Seattle' is in the end one of the better films in the romantic (comedies) movie genre. But no other romantic film has come even close to the best of 'em all... 'Love Actually'. But I do know that there IS something very special with the final scene. The top of the Empire State building, a dark star lit sky, NY city lights, the touch of a beautiful woman. There is something magical with the place...
  • matertenebraum
    December 23, 2009
    matertenebraum
    Although this film relies so much on the plot of 'An affair to remember' the central protagonists act splendidly. Every scene fits in seamlessly with the next; this film has so many quirks, namely 'David Hyde Pierce'(Niles from Fraiser) is supremely witty in his brief part as Rya... read moren's (Annie's) brother. I also loved the theme of the United States map, the classic songs, Rosie O' Donnell's extra-marital affairs, Walter's allergies, Clarise's blandness (babysitter), 'tirimasu' and lastly but most importantly 'Jonah.' It wouldn't have been the same without him. The fact that the fashions of the 90's are reflected in the film makes it interesting. People didn't seem as interested in fashion trends in the 90's; I loved the coats. If you loved this movie you must watch 'You've got mail.' Sure this movie is a classic chic flick but it''s also an appropriate family film. I've watched this film many times with my family and although the boys groan when I say I'm popping it into the DVD film, there are no real objections. If you haven't watched it, do.
  • ythelastman89
    November 18, 2009
    ythelastman89
    I really fell for this movie out of my shear devotion to Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, the greatest on screen couple. It's a really unique concept and it worked really well. What sets it apart from every other romantic comedy out there is the lovable and, more importantly, memorable ch... read morearacters. It doesn't try to preach on life or call on self importance, that's why it's really easy to watch and retain a sense of reality.
  • SirPant
    September 22, 2009
    SirPant
    Sweet, sentimental and a little sickly but certainly not the worst rom-com/chick flick I've ever seen!

View All Sleepless in Seattle Reviews

Critic Reviews

Richard Schickel
February 2, 2009
Richard Schickel, TIME Magazine

Mostly, Sleepless in Seattle leaves you feeling restless in the audience. Full Review

Jonathan Rosenbaum
February 2, 2009
Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader

If one can ignore all the straining for lightness here, this is watchable enough, though hardly anything resembling a tearjerker. Full Review

Brian Lowry
July 22, 2008
Brian Lowry, Variety

Ephron and fellow writers Jeff Arch and David S. Ward have conspired to make Sleepless in Seattle as purposefully schmaltzy as one can imagine, in a manner that's almost cynical. Full Review

Peter Travers
August 26, 2006
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

It's easily the hippest, frankest and funniest date movie around.

Vincent Canby
May 20, 2003
Vincent Canby, New York Times

Nora Ephron's Sleepless in Seattle is a feather-light romantic comedy about two lovers who meet for the first time in the last reel. It's a stunt, but it's a stunt that works far more effectively than... Full Review

Joe Brown
January 1, 2000
Joe Brown, Washington Post

A quick check of the exiting audience found many smiling -- and still clutching tissues. Full Review

Roger Ebert
January 1, 2000
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Sleepless in Seattle is as ephemeral as a talk show, as contrived as the late show, and yet so warm and gentle I smiled the whole way through. Full Review

Hal Hinson
January 1, 2000
Hal Hinson, Washington Post

We fall -- and I think a lot of people will fall hard for this movie -- even though we know we shouldn't. Full Review

James Berardinelli
January 1, 2000
James Berardinelli, ReelViews

This is a dreamy, romantic fantasy whose mood falls somewhere between magic and reality. Full Review

Common Sense Media Editors
January 1, 2011
Common Sense Media Editors, Common Sense Media

A fairy tale that even teens can enjoy. Full Review

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Facts

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    • Annie Reed: You make a million decisions that mean nothing, & then one day, you order take-out, and it changes your life.
    • Annie Reed: Destiny is something we've invented because we can't stand the fact that everything that happens is accidental.
    • Annie Reed: I don't deserve you.
    • Annie Reed: Sam. It's nice to meet you.
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Sleepless in Seattle Trivia

  • in what movie did tom hanks talk to a radio show host that many women listened to and made a woman fall in love with him?  Answer »
  • Who fell into a money pit, fell in love with a mermaid, was sleepless in Seattle, and figured out Davinci's Code?  Answer »
  • Film Soundtracks The songs in this romcom include: As Time Goes By - Jimmy Durante Wee Small Hours - Carly Simon Wink and a Smile - Harry Connick Jr. Make Someone Happy - Louis Armstrong When I Fall In Love - Nat King Cole Bye Bye Blackbird - Ray Charles  Answer »
  • Meg Ryan, Rita Wilson Victor Garber and Tom Hanks star in which film?  Answer »
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