Sleepless in Seattle
1993 film
Bill Simmons · Juliet Litman · Amanda Dobbins
Aired February 14, 2023
‹ All people
Top Gun
When Harry Met Sally...
When Harry Met Sally...
When Harry Met Sally...
When Harry Met Sally...
When Harry Met Sally...
Field of Dreams
Pretty Woman
Film credit
Meg Ryan
Stats
- Episodes featuring their films
- 6
- Movies in this archive
- 7
Rewatchables episodes featuring Meg Ryan’s films
Displaying all 6 episodes
Mentioned in discussions
In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 01:17:37Read transcript
- Kilmer and Edwards are ruled too prominent for the award
- Meg Ryan’s Carol is the leading choice
- Michael Ironside’s Jester receives an alternative nomination
- The room returns to Meg Ryan
What’s Aged the Best?
The soundtrack, rivalry, style and Tony Scott’s filmmaking
In the discussion (14)
Approx. transcript time · 00:55:24Read transcript
- Buzzing the tower became part of everyday vocabulary
- Charlie’s Porsche is admired
- The soundtrack and electric-guitar anthem retain their appeal
- Kenny Loggins’s run of movie-theme songs is discussed
- Meg Ryan and Anthony Edwards have convincing chemistry
- Maverick and Iceman’s rivalry is compared to Bird and Magic
- Tom Skerritt balances authority, warmth and intimidation
- The character-by-character end credits are praised
- The panel credits the low-priced Top Gun VHS release and Pepsi marketing with expanding home-video ownership
- Aviators, bomber jackets, jeans and mustaches remain iconic
- Cruise’s sex-symbol image and the forbidden romance are discussed
- Call signs and practical aerial effects hold up
- Tony Scott’s glossy blockbuster direction is praised
- Tim Robbins’s tiny role is a source of continuing surprise
Who Won the Movie?
Disputed: Billy Crystal and Nora Ephron
In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 01:26:52Read transcript
- One participant chooses Billy Crystal for the final speech and the comic material that makes the film distinct. — Juliet Litman
- Another leans Crystal because no other actor could sell the part, while resisting separating him from Meg Ryan. — Bill Simmons
- One participant explicitly chooses Nora Ephron for establishing her later run and the modern rom-com form. — Bill Simmons
- A second explicit choice moves to Ephron because the script could support other compatible lead pairs.
- The discussion wavers back toward Crystal; one view is that the movie does not work without this particular pairing, so the chemistry is the real winner. — Amanda Dobbins
Podcast choices
- Speaker not identified
- Billy Crystal
- Speaker not identified
- Nora Ephron
- Speaker not identified
- Nora Ephron
- Speaker not identified
- Billy Crystal
Sequel, Prequel, Limited Series, or All-Black Remake
No present-day ten-episode remake; a period version or carefully written late-life sequel remains imaginable
In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 01:22:45Read transcript
- A present-day series built around direct messages and texting is judged inert. — Bill Simmons
- A 1990s period treatment or two people forced together abroad is proposed as the only workable long-form remake. — Bill Simmons
- A sequel could make Harry and Sally an older interview couple, explore their 35th anniversary, or center their adult children, but the panel fears an unwanted reboot. — Bill Simmons
- Nancy Meyers, Meg Ryan as screenwriter, political-pundit Harry, and a Brentwood/Palisades relocation are proposed and repeatedly challenged because New York is essential.
- A divorce-and-reunion sequel is rejected because the characters already resolved their avoidable mistakes. — Bill Simmons
In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:07:53Read transcript
- Ryan’s crying, tissue-dropping, and rapid tonal shifts are judged too broad and messy.
- The panel debates whether several uninhibited moments fit the otherwise controlled “Miss Hospital Corners” characterization.
Apex Mountain
Rob Reiner: qualified yes
In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 01:05:36Read transcript
- Billy Crystal is rejected because City Slickers and his Oscar-hosting run take him higher. — Bill Simmons
- Meg Ryan is rejected because later signature movies and an uneven filmography complicate the case. — Bill Simmons
- Rob Reiner is proposed and partly accepted, though Misery and Castle Rock/Seinfeld success make a later peak plausible. — Bill Simmons
- New York as a pop-culture setting is proposed and rejected in favor of the 1970s. — Bill Simmons
Casting What-Ifs
Albert Brooks declined Harry; Susan Dey, Elizabeth Perkins, Elizabeth McGovern, and Molly Ringwald were considered for Sally, with the panel strongly preferring the released pair.
In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 00:56:21Read transcript
- Albert Brooks reportedly declined because the project felt too similar to Woody Allen and Broadcast News territory. — Bill Simmons
- Susan Dey is reported as Rob Reiner’s first Sally choice. — Bill Simmons
- Elizabeth Perkins and Elizabeth McGovern were reportedly considered. — Bill Simmons
- Molly Ringwald reportedly had a scheduling conflict; the panel rejects her as a poor match with Crystal. — Bill Simmons
- Meg Ryan gave up Shelby in Steel Magnolias to play Sally, opening that role for Julia Roberts. — Bill Simmons
What’s Aged the Worst?
The overexposed fake-orgasm scene, Meg Ryan’s perm and final-scene acting, dated aerobics and retail references, Billy Crystal’s age makeup, couple conformity, and lack of diversity
In the discussion (9)
Approx. transcript time · 00:47:25Read transcript
- The fake-orgasm scene has lost surprise through repetition and now feels long, though its final line remains iconic. — Bill Simmons
- Meg Ryan’s crying-scene perm is called an exceptionally bad haircut. — Bill Simmons
- The heavily clothed aerobics or tap class feels unmistakably 1989. — Bill Simmons
- Teenagers may no longer understand the Casablanca references even though the film itself has aged well. — Bill Simmons
- The Sharper Image store and Theodore Roosevelt shooting reference require lost period knowledge.
- Jess’s wedding speech is called mean by some panelists because it jokes that neither bride nor groom was attractive to their friends. — Bill Simmons
- Meg Ryan’s repeated “I hate you” response in the climax is criticized as weak acting against Crystal’s strong speech.
- Billy Crystal’s college hairpiece and aging treatment make him look older in 1977 than in 1989.
- The story treats heterosexual coupledom as the only satisfying outcome and contains no visible gay or Black characters. — Amanda Dobbins
In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 00:17:15Read transcript
- The transcript reports Ebert’s positive assessment and his focus on the two leads’ chemistry. — Bill Simmons
The Ruffalo / Hanna / Rubinek / Partridge Overacting Award
Beulah, the woman at the PTA meeting
In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:13:14Read transcript
- The overacting award goes to the woman at the PTA meeting, dubbed Eva Braun, Beulah, who is over the top, punching the air and sliding into lockers, though it works; it is explicitly not Amy Madigan, whose notes are held for nitpicks; Meg Ryan is floated as the only other possible casting for Amy Madigan's part, and Chris is teased for being sweet on Amy Madigan.
Casting What-Ifs
Burt Reynolds, Al Pacino, John Travolta, Albert Brooks and Sylvester Stallone as Edward; Molly Ringwald, Diane Lane and Meg Ryan as Vivian
In the discussion (11)
Approx. transcript time · 00:55:43Read transcript
- Called the all-time record list: "Bert" Reynolds declined Edward and in 2012 said he made a mistake after seeing the love-making scenes. — Bill Simmons
- Al Pacino turned down Edward after a screen test with Roberts; that movie does not work. — Bill Simmons
- John Travolta auditioned, and had turned down American Gigolo, which made Gere a star. — Bill Simmons
- Read as half-assed internet research: Gere was about to turn the part down when Roberts slid him a "please say yes" Post-it; the hosts doubt it. — Bill Simmons
- Gere turned down Gordon Gecko in Wall Street; Michael Douglas is floated for this movie, and Robert "Radford," who did a similar role in Indecent Proposal five years later.
- Albert Brooks and Stallone also turned Edward down; a Jewish Edward Levin remake is joked about. — Juliet Litman
- Demi Moore turned down Kit, the right choice given her St. Elmo's Fire role.
- For Vivian: Uma Thurman and "Brookshield's" auditioned, Winona Ryder was deemed too young, and Marshall wanted Karen Allen or Meg Ryan, who declined; Meg Ryan would not work. — Bill Simmons
- Vivian needs to be early 20s, and her height towering over Jason Alexander matters. — Bill Simmons
- Molly Ringwald turned it down and regrets it; Diane Lane nearly played Vivian but pulled out over scheduling; "Michelle Fife" turned it down. — Bill Simmons
- Several other actresses allegedly turned it down, which the hosts do not believe. — Bill Simmons
In the discussion (7)
Approx. transcript time · 00:35:14Read transcript
- The award is defined as supporting character actors who make the most of their time; Vanessa Redgrave, born in 1937 and about 59 or 60, one of the great actresses of the 20th century, plays an arms dealer named Max who communicates via Usenet group, and is argued to have more sexual chemistry with Cruise than anyone in his movies except Kelly McGillis.
- Redgrave looks at him like he is a steak, chews over every line, calls him dear boy, seems to have been taking nitrous hits, and smiles like a shark when he comes in; the shroud scene is recalled, with Ethan hooded in a knit hat and warned he will wear the shroud indefinitely if Max does not like what he has to say, and the clip of her asking who he is and his demand for $150,000 is played.
- Whether it is a flaw or a nitpick, the villains' goals in the whole series are elusive: this film has Phelps and Max, and what they have going on, beyond shifting money around, is unclear; the explanation offered is Phelps's bitterness, voiced to Ethan as a tool for a war that is no longer going on, farmed out on $60,000 a year, the same line Ed Harris has at the end of The Rock the same year, read as the post-Desert Storm, Fukuyama end-of-history mood.
- Other nominees: Henry Zerny (as transcribed), who did not pop off after this, whose performance once seemed over the top and is now excellent, including his interplay with Barnes played by Dale Dye, bullying him throughout, and dressing like a G man from the 1930s in overcoat and fedora once the pursuit of Hunt begins; he built a career on the dick bureaucrat after Clear and Present Danger, called his iconic performance.
- Emilio Estevez, coming off Young Guns, seemed to be doing a fun cameo and never showed up in a blockbuster ensemble again, with The Outsiders and The Mighty Ducks debated; Kristen Scott Thomas was remarkable; Jon Voight has too many minutes played for the award but is unrecognizable from the iconic 1970s actor of Coming Home and Midnight Cowboy.
- Ving Rhames gets respect: Luther becomes Ethan's conscience across the series, and casting the burly Marcellus Wallace figure as the smartest hacker in the room was a smart choice that holds, even after Simon Pegg is introduced; one host then goes with Redgrave.
- Jean Reno is shouted out for a volcanic hot streak from The Professional through this to Ronin, where he plays nearly the same role more gregariously, with Sean Bean as the Jean Reno of Ronin; French Kiss with Kevin Kline and Meg Ryan is cited as his erased earlier appearance, and Redgrave is confirmed.
Displaying discussions 25 - 36 of 40 in total
Films in the archive
Prelude to a Kiss
1992
Proof of Life
2000
Sleepless in Seattle
1993
The Doors
1991
Top Gun
1986
When Harry Met Sally...
1989
You've Got Mail
1998