As someone who routinely watches the same handful of movies over and over again, I’ve made it my goal this year to watch at least one film I’ve never seen every other week. So far, I’ve been successful, but the year is still young. At the start of the month, I finally watched When Harry Met Sally and loved it, and now I’ve added Sandra Bullock’s While You Were Sleeping to my list of best romantic comedies. As much as I loved the movie, though, there was one scene that left me wondering what the writers were thinking when they included it.
Bullock plays Lucy, a lonely transit worker who believes she’s in love with Peter (Peter Gallagher), a commuter at the train station where she works. When he’s pushed onto the train tracks in a mugging, Lucy springs into action and saves him. She follows him to the hospital, where she learns he’s in a coma and accidentally lets the hospital staff and Peter’s family think she’s his fiancée. As much as she hates lying, Lucy enjoys being part of a family again until Peter’s brother, Jack (Bill Pullman), shows up, and he and Lucy start getting close, complicating things.
I knew nothing going into the movie beyond the fact that it’s considered one of the best romantic movies to watch during Christmas, and I’m happy to report that assessment is right. I just wish one scene would have happened differently.
While You Were Sleeping Is A Masterclass In The Miscommunication Trope
It’s easy to get frustrated with the miscommunication trope in movies and TV shows because all two characters need to do is talk to clear things up; however, I never once found myself frustrated with Lucy in While You Were Sleeping. Instead, I felt sympathetic for her and the massive pickle she found herself in. Dare I say, watching her struggle to keep the charade up while falling in love with Jack was comical? Because it totally was.
I found myself gasping and laughing more times than I could count at the constant miscommunication going on in the movie. From Jack thinking Lucy was cheating on Peter with her neighbor Joe Jr. (Michael Rispoli) to Mary (Monica Keena) telling the entire family Lucy was pregnant when she was not. And don’t even get me started on Saul’s (Jack Warden) inability to help Lucy come clean with the rest of the family. There wasn’t one instance where I felt the miscommunication was farfetched or annoying
But I Wish The Movie Left Out The Mistletoe Kiss Scene
A few days after formally meeting Peter’s entire family, Lucy is invited to spend a belated Christmas celebration with them. She reluctantly agrees to go and has a great time. As Lucy is going to leave, Jack follows her out, and the two get caught under the mistletoe hanging over the front door. The two are hesitant to participate in the kissing tradition but are egged on by Peter and Jack’s entire family. Ultimately, they listen to the family’s cheers to “kiss” and lock lips for the first time.
On the one hand, including the scene was a genius way for Lucy to kiss Jack without the lie about being Jack’s fiancée unraveling. After all, it would be easy to shoot down any cheating allegations because it was just a friendly kiss under a mistletoe that everyone encouraged them to do. In a way, it was the perfect way to get the actual love interests to kiss and create the quintessential first kiss scene every rom-com needs.
However, I can’t wrap my head around the fact that the entire family stands there cheering Lucy and Jack on, knowing that she’s engaged to their son, who is in a coma. What’s even worse is that Lucy and Jack go for a full-on kiss! They could have kissed each other’s cheek or done a quick forehead peck, but nope, they lock lips. The entire scene really took me out of the movie and made me question if I should be rooting for Lucy and Jack in the first place. Thankfully, I got over it, but I think the kiss scene between the two of them should have been saved until after the truth had been revealed.
I know the holiday season is over, but if you don’t mind watching a Christmas-adjacent movie in January, then I highly recommend streaming While You Were Sleeping with a Hulu subscription. And while you’re there, consider checking out some of the other best ’90s movies streaming on the platform.