SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE

In the film, SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE, an eight-year-old Jonah calls a talk-show host on Christmas Eve to discuss his recently widowed father’s problems while Annie, in Baltimore, hears the broadcast and begins to daydream about Sam, the boy’s father. Engaged to Walter, Annie nevertheless is intrigued with Sam. She flies to Seattle hoping to meet him, but all she can say is “Hello.” Later, she writes to Sam and Jonah and proposes a meeting atop the Empire State Building on Valentine’s Day. Jonah manages to arrange a flight to New York so he can meet Annie on top of the Empire State Building. Meanwhile, Sam rushes after Jonah. Annie breaks her engagement to Walter, and then runs out the door toward the Empire State Building. Of course, the movie has a “happily ever after” ending probably making it one of the hits of the summer, at least for women between the ages of 25 and 49.

Screenwriter and director Nora Ephron says the movie pays homage to another movie, AN AFFAIR TO REMEMBER. She told the actors, ” ‘This is not a movie about love; it’s a move about love in the movies.'” The movie is well crafted, though not outstanding, with competent acting on the part of Hanks, Ryan, and, in particular, Ross Malinger, who plays eight-year-old Jonah. Admiringly, the story theme reminds of I Corinthians 13:8: “Love never fails”–a refreshing theme indeed.