Ep. 9 - Our Top 3 Romantic Comedies!

This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:00] J.J.: Welcome back to another episode of "Back to the Movie Theater" with J.J. and Olaf! Today, we're diving into a topic that is sure to warm your hearts.

[0:30] Olaf: That's right! We're talking about our Top 3 Romantic Comedies. Love is definitely in the air today!

[1:00] J.J.: Absolutely! Romantic comedies have a special place in our hearts, and we can't wait to share our favorites with you.

[1:30] Olaf: So, let's get started! J.J., what’s your number three pick?

[2:00] J.J.: My number three pick is "When Harry Met Sally." It's a classic! The chemistry between Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan is just unbeatable.

[2:30] Olaf: Great choice! That movie has so many iconic moments. I love the diner scene!

[3:00] J.J.: Yes! "I'll have what she's having" is a line that everyone remembers. It’s such a clever film that really captures the complexities of relationships.

[3:30] Olaf: For sure! And the dialogue is just so sharp and witty. It’s a film that gets better every time you watch it.

[4:00] J.J.: Exactly! Now, Olaf, what’s your number three?

[4:30] Olaf: My number three is "Sleepless in Seattle." Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan again, but this time in a different kind of love story.

[5:00] J.J.: Another classic! The way they build the romance through phone calls is so unique.

[5:30] Olaf: Right? It’s all about fate and connection. Plus, the supporting cast is fantastic, especially Rosie O'Donnell.

[6:00] J.J.: Absolutely! She adds so much humor to the film. It’s a perfect blend of romance and comedy.

[6:30] Olaf: Now, moving on to our number two picks. J.J., what do you have?

[7:00] J.J.: My number two is "Moonstruck." Cher and Nicolas Cage are just brilliant together.

[7:30] Olaf: Such a great choice! The whole family dynamic in that film is hilarious and heartwarming.

[8:00] J.J.: Yes! And the way it explores love in different forms is really touching. Plus, the setting in New York is just beautiful.

[8:30] Olaf: I love how it captures the essence of Italian-American culture. It’s a film that feels so alive.

[9:00] J.J.: Definitely! Now, Olaf, what’s your number two?

[9:30] Olaf: My number two is "While You Were Sleeping." Sandra Bullock is just adorable in that role.

[10:00] J.J.: Oh, I love that movie! The whole mistaken identity plot is so charming.

[10:30] Olaf: Exactly! And the family aspect adds so much warmth to the story. It’s a feel-good movie for sure.

[11:00] J.J.: Agreed! Now, we’re down to our number one picks. This is the moment we’ve all been waiting for!

[11:30] Olaf: Yes! Let’s reveal our top romantic comedies!

[12:10] J.J.: When Harry Met Sally, like every fall, because it's just like the perfect time. It was one of those movies for me that it does such an amazing job with romanticizing the city.

[12:21] Olaf: Yes.

[12:21] J.J.: To where you almost go, ooh, do I want to live there because, or I want to live there. I want to live in New York because I saw When Harry Met Sally. And then you live in New York and you wonder, ooh, you know, that same sort of effect with like La La Land. How it romanticizes Los Angeles.

[12:36] Olaf: But I had lived in Los Angeles before, so I was like, I love La La Land, the movie. I love it. It's great, but it's not going to make me want to move there.

[12:44] J.J.: And New York is kind of the same. It could be. You're getting the very best of New York in that movie, where you're a little harder pressed to get if you live there.

[12:56] Olaf: Sure.

[12:57] J.J.: Having lived in New York, and maybe it's also because of my personality, I didn't let the harshness of New York affect my outlook on it. Like when I was there, it was really, I made the choice, of course, and some days were harder than others. But I made the choice to still find the beauty and the amazing things of New York. And I think a lot of it has to do with films like When Harry Met Sally that do such a great job of shooting Central Park in the fall. Like you're saying, you know, shooting specific spots like Washington Square Park, Katz's Deli, where they do the orgasm scene, the roast, you know, I'll have what she's having. We get to see all the seasons. We get to see them, the testimonial scenes with the couples on the couch, all the real couples, real stories, actors. But they got actors to shoot them. But the stories are real, which I think was just as cool. They obviously got actors to do it because they weren't sure if the real people would be as natural.

[13:56] Olaf: Yeah, but the stories themselves are real, which, again, that's why that that is my number one romantic comedy.

[14:04] J.J.: Yeah. I mean, you know, it's a generational thing. I'm sure younger people will be like, what, who? And they've got their own. And it's probably something that just recently came out. And it's just more formulaic.

[14:19] Olaf: Right. Well, that's the thing with that movie when it came out. I would say prior to that, like if you were to look at the 80s and maybe I'm wrong, there were different types of romantic comedies because I'm going to one of mine is going to be some. But it wasn't this sort of way of doing it that I think post When Harry Met Sally, they took that formula and they tried to carbon copy it through a lot of different movies in a lot of different ways that weren't as strong or successful.

[14:48] J.J.: Some good, some strong, but not as I can think of one such example that I I'm not going to bring up. I'm not going to bring up. All right. So that's When Harry Met Sally, it's it's a loved, loved film by many, many. And it is one that you and I share. If it's not my number one, it's definitely number two. But I knew that we had that one on our list together. So that being said, you know, we both only have two. We do two movies. We only have two movies left. So I don't I don't think this my second movie that I mentioned we share because it is off that same tree and that is Sleepless in Seattle.

[15:35] Olaf: That was going to be my last movie that I shared with you, because that's the one where I'm like, that might be my number one.

[15:43] J.J.: Wow. So you're saying a two of our top threes are When Harry Met Sally and Sleepless in Seattle.

[15:49] Olaf: Yeah. OK. Yeah, because I I wasn't sure if that if Sleepless in Seattle was going to make your list, because we've talked before and you seem to have some like bizarre, unrelatable love for You've Got Mail.

[16:04] J.J.: No, no, it does. But I don't have that without Sleepless in Seattle.

[16:09] Olaf: So sleep. Well, yeah, because Nora Ephron was like, yeah, I can't really come up with any ideas right now. You know what? Why don't we just do Sleepless in Seattle again? And I'll just change a couple of things.

[16:19] J.J.: Well, in her and You've Got Mail is actually a remake of Shop Around the Corner with Jimmy Stewart. So sure, it's the same concept.

[16:39] Olaf: No, Sleepless in Seattle is my number two, and to me, it's almost like one a if I was going to do that, it's one a. This movie came out in the summer of ninety three. And I'm going to tell you right now, I saw it three weekends in a row. They did a like a double feature sneak preview the week before it came out. You could see the movie that hadn't come out yet. You could see it a week early and they would pair it with a movie that had already come out. And nine times out of 10, each of the movies that you saw had nothing to do with the other, like in terms of genre. So we went and saw and this was my whole family. We went and saw Sleepless in Seattle and the double feature with Sleepless in Seattle was Cliffhanger starring Sylvester Stallone, which also was a great movie.

[17:26] J.J.: I mean, yeah, it's a lot of fun. It's a great movie, but we're talking two polar opposite films. But I remember sitting in the theater when Sleepless in Seattle came on, having already been a Tom Hanks fan. I was already a Meg Ryan fan. I knew Nora Ephron already because of When Harry Met Sally and other things. And just from the jump, I was like, with the music, is it had that same sort of feel that When Harry Met Sally did just with the music and with everything?

[17:53] Olaf: Yeah. Another amazing soundtrack.

[17:56] J.J.: Yes. Which I have. I've got both of them.

[17:57] Olaf: Yeah, same. I mean, they're so good.

[18:01] J.J.: I, I love this movie. I, I think I love it more than When Harry Met Sally. It's because I think about When Harry Met Sally and I'm like, oh, man, I love this movie so much. But then when I think about Sleepless in Seattle, I think it just hits harder for me then.

[18:15] Olaf: Well, it's like the soundtrack hits so hard for me because it informs everything that's going on. The scene when he puts his son to bed and then Nat King Cole's Stardust comes on and he starts, he sees his wife on the couch.

[18:29] J.J.: Oh, their conversation. For me, I, I can watch When Harry Met Sally and laugh and enjoy myself and still that hopeless romantic in me still getting caught up in their relationship and see myself in a lot of it because I've had really dear friends that I did everything with that were of the opposite sex. And but we just never, she was never my Sally.

[18:55] Olaf: Right.

[18:56] J.J.: But with this one, like, oh, it tugs on my heart in so many ways. And it's just, it's just such a beautiful movie. And for me, it's my number one there. I said it. I came out and I said it. I committed to it. It's whatever.

[19:10] Olaf: And I love the fact that it's your number one because I didn't think this was, I didn't think maybe because we've never really talked about it, but I didn't think this was going to be on your top three either.

[19:19] J.J.: This one for sure, like, unabashedly is is my one one a so much so that, like, I've been to Seattle and the scene where they walk out like he and Rob Reiner have just talked about tiramisu and swatches.

[19:31] Olaf: Yeah.

[19:32] J.J.: And then they walk down the street and he's like, well, how's my butt? I don't know. We great on the curve. Like, we created that scene, you know, with Johnny actually in Seattle, like 20 years ago.

[19:43] Olaf: Johnny, our amazing editor.

[19:45] J.J.: Yeah, we went went to the restaurant where he and Rob Reiner, you know, are talking about swatches.

[19:51] Olaf: That's fantastic.

[19:51] J.J.: Yeah. But then we can't mention this movie without mentioning Victor Garber and Tom Hanks's real wife, Rita Wilson, who aren't in a lot of this movie. They're in two.

[20:01] Olaf: No, they're in two scenes, but they're great.

[20:04] J.J.: Amazings. And like one of them was completely made up.

[20:09] Olaf: Well, one of them was a throwaway. The first scene when they're walking through the airport, you're like, oh, this is I don't know who these people are, but they're clearly friends of Tom Hanks.

[20:17] J.J.: And then the scene where they come, you totally buy that. They're great, long friends.

[20:24] Olaf: Sure.

[20:24] J.J.: But when they come to visit in Seattle and then, yes, the whole.

[20:27] Olaf: Yeah.

[20:27] J.J.: And they have the dinner party and the dirtiness and Victor Dirty Dozen. It's completely improvised.

[20:34] Olaf: It's so good for anyone who's ever seen the Dirty Dozen, which, if you haven't, you better because it's amazing. But yeah, Tom and Victor just well, when Lee Marvin getting emotional and when Bob's coming down, you know, he's throwing a good day, you know, and of course, and of course, this is in response to the Rita Wilson's, you know, an affair to remember.

[21:00] J.J.: Yeah, it sounds like a chick's movie.

[21:02] Olaf: Oh, but so, yeah, I mean, and then the soundtrack, you get another Harry Connick, Jr., which that song got nominated for an Oscar. He didn't write it, but it's still got nominated for an Oscar.

[21:11] J.J.: And then you cap it off with the scene in New York again, another you're only getting a little piece of it, but it's enough to go, yeah, for me, yeah, I want to I want to live in New York.

[21:26] Olaf: Yeah, I did. You don't get New York is is not much of a character in this. It's really just the the finale. And it's not even New York. It's really just the Empire State Building that is the character.

[21:38] J.J.: But this one I love because I've always wanted to go to Seattle. I've been to Vancouver, but I've never made it to Seattle. And this movie really made me want to see it more because the house on the water and stuff. And I've always wanted to see it. I've never seen a house on the water, but obviously downtown, you know, the market, the Space Needle. I mean, it's all there. It's it's great. That is another character in the story as well.

[22:03] Olaf: And again, there's so many different things about this movie. The talk show, that whole scene when the sun calls into into the radio show.

[22:12] J.J.: Oh, my God.

[22:12] Olaf: Looking for a new wife, you know, and that which spawns obviously which spawns this whole thing. And gosh, that gets me every time. I this movie is amazing.

[22:22] J.J.: Meg Ryan. This was I might have seen this before When Harry Met Sally. It's hard for me to remember because both the first and second parts of the first book were so much more.

[22:32] Olaf: I mean, I'm not sure if it's the same as the second part. But it was a lot of it. This movie is amazing.

[22:39] J.J.: Meg Ryan. This was I might have seen this before When Harry Met Sally. It's hard for me to remember because both are are so old. But this is the movie where I absolutely fell in love with her. And her sense of romance is something that I've I think I share.

[22:57] Olaf: Sure.

[22:58] J.J.: That hopeless romantic ness. I mean, I just it's got me in a lot of trouble and a lot of heartache over the years, unfortunately. But I've just always been a hopeless romantic. And it does invite a lot of punishment on your emotions, unfortunately. But, you know, gosh, when you feel that way, it's it's amazing.

[23:21] Olaf: Oh, it's an amazing feeling.

[23:23] J.J.: No doubt. As somebody who I definitely am and definitely was a romantic, hopeful, romantic, I guess. But this movie tapped into that for me, too, because you walk are going, yeah, I mean, this could happen, you know, not maybe. But the idea that it's possible, regardless of the idea of love at first sight.

[23:42] Olaf: Yeah. And that undeniable chemistry and connection that you just you, you know, without knowing. And it's and it's I don't know why, but it works so well.

[23:53] J.J.: It's so believable that these two people who have never seen each other or spoken to each other will just meet and happily ever.

[24:01] Olaf: Right. It's well, it's because you believe them individually and together because you forget that they don't see each other. You think that they do. I think this movie has an amazing way of tricking your mind into thinking that they're interacting with each other when they aren't. They're not interacting with each other at all. Tom's distracting himself with the.

[24:21] J.J.: Idea of being with this wonderfully cast actress who plays that, yeah, she plays it so well, but oh my gosh, the laugh is...

[24:33] Olaf: Yeah, she laughs like she's a hyena.

[24:37] J.J.: Yeah, and then you've got the amazing Bill Pullman as the fiancé for Meg Ryan, and he plays such a wonderful guy who has no chance. He's got no chance, but as opposed to other movies where you see the actor, you see the character, and you're going, "Why is she with this dude? Like, there's no way this is gonna happen." You could still say the same about Bill Pullman's character as well. You're like, "She's not gonna end up with this guy," but for some reason, she's in the space at the beginning of the movie where she loves Walter. Like, she's like, "Yeah, this is the guy," like the family and everything, and it's just like it works.

[25:19] I believe that she's not embarrassed by him. Like, even at the dinner table when he gives the Lou Gehrig line, she's like all in to be like, "That's the Lou Gehrig line." She's not embarrassed by him in any way. She loves him. When they talk about how they met and it's over the sandwich orders, and yeah, you totally see how they fell in love and why they're together, right? But up to that point, she hadn't experienced what she ends up experiencing with Tom Hanks.

[25:47] Because like all of us, we listen to him talk about his dead wife, and we all want to go out to Seattle. I mean, jeez, yeah, well, look at all the letters he got. I'll talk up to him about dirty... doesn't all the fan mail he got. But no, I mean, there are other, again, I talked about characters that aren't wasted. Even Rosie O'Donnell's character, she was so good as her friend, and she gives you just enough of the supportive friend. But even when she's like, she knows Walter isn't the guy for Meg Ryan, but she's still gonna support her friend until, you know, everyone in it just has such a believable relationship with the other people—friendship, love interest—it all works.

[26:40] It all is grounded. It all feels so believable, and they touch on topics that you don't always get to see, and I love this movie. It's the music, the direction, the comedy, the heartstrings. I mean, everything about it. I will watch this movie anytime, anytime.

[27:00] Olaf: Oh, absolutely. I mean, I loved going up to the Empire State Building several times after this movie came out just because of that movie. And that people would do that because that's what it was, you know? Again, and I'm a huge Tom Hanks fan, and for me, it was one of those, having already been a fan of his, that movie solidified my fandom for him because he is that everyday man we talked about with Billy Crystal, but Tom Hanks even more so is that everyday man.

[27:24] J.J.: Oh, yeah, especially at this point in his career because this movie he did right after A League of Their Own and right before Philadelphia. So he was right there where his career was really gonna take that turn where he would then be able to do whatever he wanted. The way he handled his grief and then his son and still handling his grief but being able to get up in the morning and take a breath and move on and move forward, and it's just... wow, just amazing.

[27:54] Olaf: Yeah, whoo. That's Sleepless in Seattle, guys. If you have not seen Sleepless in Seattle or When Harry Met Sally, these are movies you've got—what have you been doing with your lives? Oh my gosh. I mean, they're beautiful films in their own right, but there's just no heart in that chest if you can't appreciate Sleepless in Seattle.

[28:20] J.J.: Man, so now, so our first two of our three movies we both have on our list. Now, I'm really curious, so I'm gonna have you tell me your third.

[28:32] Olaf: Okay, 'cause I thought I was gonna throw the ball over to you, but at this point, it's all out the window because so far, we're right on track of all the romantic comedies that have ever come out in the history of film. We are right on there with two. This is now... this one I am confident that you don't have.

[28:44] J.J.: I don't know.

[28:55] Olaf: Because you don't have You've Got Mail on your list.

[28:58] J.J.: I'm getting up. I'm taking the headphones off. You've Got Mail is not on my list. However, I love You've Got Mail. Now, here's the thing. I can sit down and I can enjoy You've Got Mail for what it is. And of course, who isn't going to enjoy Tom Hanks or Meg Ryan? Yeah, I just... what bugs me about it is how much it's just... there's so much of it that's just a regurgitation of... it's not the... it's not exactly the same, but the fact that you do have Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks and it's still this sort of quasi long-distance thing that... and then they come together at the end, and it just bugs me to no end.

[29:43] Olaf: But I can turn my brain off and my anger for what it is. Like the fact that Tom Hanks is the one that's...

[29:54] J.J.: That this movie makes you angry?

[29:56] Olaf: I get really irritated because Sleepless in Seattle is so dear to me. Well, it's not like this just feels like a rehash, but it's not like they're, "Wait, let's make a sequel to Sleepless in Seattle," and then it was not good. They simply took another existing film. They were just gonna, you know, make a different movie. That's Sleepless, and they adapted an old movie. Instead of them being pen pals, they're email pals.

[30:21] J.J.: I know.

[30:22] Olaf: Man, by the way, You've Got Mail does not age.

[30:27] J.J.: It does not age well. I mean, well, that technology is so well dated now, and for a movie that's trying to be modern...

[30:35] Olaf: Well, I mean, technology was not quite around the corner yet, but it was getting there, and it sort of relied on... it does. It relies on the tech of the time.

[30:47] J.J.: So sure, right now.

[30:49] Olaf: Seriously, though, this is not on your list.

[30:54] J.J.: It's not. It's not. It's not my top three. It's not my top three.

[30:56] Olaf: Sweating, but I was still... I was going back and forth with my third pick for this, and I've got it. Like, there's two movies that came out in the same year but that are two totally different types of romantic comedies, and so I could go either way. But I know this one isn't on your list.

[31:16] J.J.: Well, I will be... if it is, then I apologize to the audience for having to listen to just three movies instead of a possible six. But my number three, I really, really enjoy and love the movie Moonstruck.

[31:29] Olaf: Okay, not on my list.

[31:35] J.J.: Yeah, Norman Jewison film came out in 1987 with Cher, Nicolas Cage, Olympia Dukakis as the mom, Danny Aiello as the fiancé. But again, it's a movie set in New York, this time in the '80s. I love the style of the movie. It's very stylized in the sense that it takes place in Brooklyn, and you know, they're the thick, you know, New York Brooklyn accents. Cher, what I find funny is that they try to make Cher... they really try to make her the ugly duckling in this film. Like, they give her this white streak in her hair.

[32:10] They have her in this... or that's gonna do, yeah, and they have her in these like drab sweaters. They try to do their best with the makeup and the wardrobe to make her as unattractive as possible, which they don't really do a good job at, but she does a really good job of not believing in her own beauty and in her own self that it works because you're sitting there, she has no self-confidence. Danny Aiello is the sort of suitor who loves her and wants to marry her. His mom might be sick, and he's very like a mama's boy, and so he goes off to take care of the mom because she might be dying.

[32:56] So she gets engaged to him because it's my mom's dying wish or whatever. And so then, but she's got to go tell Danny Aiello's brother, right? Who's played by Nicolas Cage, who is just... he's perfect for this role. He's perfect for this movie. He's just the right accent. He's the Nicolas Cage eccentric that we've all come to know and love in his later life, but he gets to show it early in his career, and he's only like 23. Not that he hadn't shown his eccentricities before in films like Raising Arizona and even Valley Girl, but you know, the chemistry that he and Cher's character have is clearly, you know, you right away you're going, "Okay, well, this is gonna happen."

[33:34] But it's more about what love can do to not just the two of them, but other characters throughout the movie when you let it in. And of course, the full moon is, you know, they keep alluding to the full moon and how you're moonstruck and all that, hence the title. But for me, it's just one of those quintessential New York romantic comedy movies, but it's not played for... it's different than like When Harry Met Sally or Sleepless in Seattle. It's just coming at it from a different tone. Like, the tone of the movie is different. It's a little grittier because of where in New York it's shot, and the characters, like Nicolas Cage's character, is super rough around the edges.

[34:18] But it's also, again, nobody's wasted, and it's really concise. It's like an hour and 40 minutes. You see this sort of ugly duckling transformation happen with Cher where you really get to see the beauty of who she is. She won an Oscar, Olympia Dukakis won an Oscar, the movie got nominated. To me, I love Moonstruck. I don't get to see it enough, but when it comes on, I'll find myself sitting there watching it because everybody in it is performing at a high level. I love Moonstruck. So that would be my number three. And again, that number three can be interchanged. I mean, I feel like that's a solid choice.

[34:57] Olaf: It's been so long since I've seen Moonstruck that like I would have to really think about... depending on how long my list is, would it be on?

[35:07] J.J.: Sure. I mean, I don't think it would be in my top five for certain, but it's a good choice. I'm curious though because you said you had another one that was like back and forth, back and forth.

[35:17] Olaf: I did. What would be the honorable mention?

[35:22] J.J.: Well, the other one that was there is The Princess Bride. That was my honorable mention.

[35:27] Olaf: Yeah, because I don't know if it's technically a rom-com because it's kind of everything because it's got the fantasy element.

[35:36] J.J.: Fantasy, it's adventure, yes.

[35:38] Olaf: But at the heart of it, it's a romance film with a lot of comedy. I mean, but again, it's, you know, but you could say that it's a comedy film. You could say it's just a romance film because the romance part of it isn't really ever played for laughs.

[35:55] J.J.: True, so...

[35:57] Olaf: But I would have put it in maybe my top three, maybe just if I could have succinctly said that is a rom-com, but that's so fun because, yeah, The Princess Bride. Yeah. Oh, that is a movie. We'll have to talk about just...

[36:13] J.J.: That's easy. And hey, look, Rob Reiner again.

[36:31] J.J.: to the first two. When Harry Met Sally and Sleepless in Seattle. Those are both connected. They both have Meg Ryan. They both have Rob Reiner. Rob Reiner was the director of When Harry. He was in Sleepless in Seattle. This one also has an actor who was in Sleepless in Seattle and is in this as well.

[36:50] Olaf: Ooh, I think I know what it is.

[36:52] J.J.: I love this movie. It is... I just feel so good about it. I want to guess now. I root for everybody in it. I kind of want to guess now, but I don't know. Maybe I'm wrong.

[37:03] J.J.: Well, it is While You Were Sleeping. Sandra Bullock. Bill Pullman, who was in Sleepless in Seattle, got left by Meg Ryan. He finds love unexpectedly with Sandra Bullock. It takes place in Chicago. What a cast. You got Peter Gallagher, Peter Boyle. You've got Jack Warden and Glynnis Johns for those old school Disney fans out there. She was the mother in Mary Poppins. Jack Warden, he's been in...

[37:39] J.J.: Jack Warden's everything. He's been in everything. You've also got Jason Bernard, who plays Sandra Bullock's boss, and he's so good at it because he's just hearing what's going on and trying to keep track of it all. Then the neighbor, the upstairs neighbor.

[38:00] J.J.: Joe Jr. That was Michael Rispoli. Hey, loose. Is this guy bothering you, loose? He's so good at it because he is annoying, but you love him anyway.

[38:14] J.J.: Yeah, he means well. He means well. Yeah, he means well, and he loves Lucy so much, Sandra Bullock. This movie, she is just the ticket taker for...

[38:27] J.J.: The ferry. She's the toll person. You have to pay to take the ferry.

[38:34] J.J.: Yeah, the toll person, just to take the train into the city. Every day, she sees Peter Gallagher's character, who his name is Peter. Big stretch, and he's just this suave business guy with beautiful hair and everything. He's just walking through, throwing his toll in. She's never spoken to him, and she just is madly in love with him, just hopelessly, romantically in love with Peter. One day, he falls on the tracks and knocks himself out, puts himself basically in a coma, and she rescues him.

[39:15] J.J.: Impressively, by the way, because she muscles him off those tracks.

[39:21] J.J.: Yeah, but she makes it believable that she was able to do it. Sandra Bullock was so good in this because she played the character so well. She gave Meg Ryan a run for her money in this rom-com, being that character that you just want to fall in love with, and she's dealing with everything that's going on. She ends up going to the hospital with Peter, who's unconscious, and they're trying to push her out of the room when she says, I'm his wife.

[39:54] J.J.: Fiancee, I think, or wife. I can't remember. Well, it just worked out because the family never really communicated with Peter Gallagher anyway, so it worked out. Then the family shows up, and the nurse says that this is his wife.

[40:07] Sandra Bullock: Right, that's what it is.

[40:08] J.J.: They're all like, what? It's this beautiful family, this beautiful family.

[40:14] Sandra Bullock: Let me ask you this. It's a great family. They've got even the granddaughter who's there. If the family is so great, why are Peter Gallagher and Bill Pullman don't really communicate with this family?

[40:29] J.J.: That's not true at all. Peter Boyle's character, he's been running this moving business, especially where they'll go to houses where the person has died, so he's always looking at the obituaries so that they can get a hold of the furniture and everything. It's a family business. Bill Pullman, Jack, is-

[40:57] Peter Boyle: The next in line to take over the business?

[40:57] J.J.: Yeah, but he's doing the business with his dad. Now, his dad's gotten to the point where he's a little too old to really be doing much, so Bill Pullman's basically just doing everything. It's one of those things where you grow up and you do what your dad does, but you have dreams of other things. He's always been a part of the family. He's been running the family business, but he wants to be a carpenter and build furniture, and his dad's like, what are you doing?

[41:34] J.J.: I love Peter Boyle and just about anything he was ever in.

[41:34] Peter Boyle: He's fantastic, and he was great in this, but Peter Gallagher's character, he is just this snobby, uninterested businessman, rich guy.

[41:42] J.J.: He's not only uninterested, he's uninteresting, you come to find out.

[41:46] Peter Boyle: Yeah, he's just the quintessential snobby, rich business guy. He's got the girlfriend who is not very nice. She is afraid to say anything, Sandra Bullock, she's afraid to say anything because the family's just so nice, and it just keeps going on and on. She basically gets brought into this family, and she not only falls in love, she's in love with Peter, but she falls in love with the family as well because she's been on her own for so long. Bill Pullman, his character's very suspect about the whole thing, but I think he likes her from the beginning, but now he's mad at her because he likes her, but she's with him, with Peter instead. It's just this back and forth until, oh, and Jack Warden, he's a friend of the family, but he's basically in the family. He's always there.

[42:40] J.J.: He's the only one that knows Lucy's secret.

[42:44] Peter Boyle: Right, he figures it out.

[42:46] Peter Boyle: So she's got that confidant in the family with Jack. Saul was his name. He's all for it. He's like, yeah, I like you. I want to keep you in the family kind of thing. But then finally, they find out, and she's mortified, and she runs off. Bill Pullman, he shows up, and they fall in love. Peter, he comes out of his coma, and he's like, who are you?

[43:10] Stan Mallow: Right. Well, then he thinks, yeah, this makes sense. I do love you because he doesn't want to be alone. He's like, yeah, I'll make this work.

[43:19] Peter Boyle: Yeah, because at that point, he's woken up. He kind of has a new outlook on life because he was in a coma, and now there's this wonderful lady that's nice and everything. He's like, oh, yeah, yeah, I'll get married.

[43:33] Stan Mallow: Yeah, why not?

[43:34] Peter Boyle: Yeah, and Bill Pullman's like, you idiot. You don't even know you have.

[43:39] Stan Mallow: Yeah, that's a solid. No, and again, I love Sandra Bullock because again, this is a perfect vehicle for her at the right time. She had just done Speed, and this was the next thing, which, again, blew up for her. Then she started doing certain films after that. She started getting more work. She's perfect in it because you're right. For me, you say Meg Ryan, and I would almost say there's a Julia Roberts. For me, it was more like Sandra Bullock and Julia Roberts had that sort of same energy and vibe that I compare those to, then like a Meg Ryan and Sandra Bullock.

[44:25] Stan Mallow: You could argue all three of them share very similar bits. There's part of Julia Roberts from Pretty Woman that I think works with Meg Ryan, and same with Sandra Bullock. I don't know what it is. They all tapped into this type of character of this type of woman that works in a romantic comedy that I just am always drawn to.

[44:51] Peter Boyle: Yeah, no, I agree. Her character in While You Were Sleeping is very similar to that type of romantic comedy female lead of the time. With Sandra Bullock's character, though, she's almost like she's pining for a guy she doesn't know, as opposed to Meg Ryan in both Sleepless in Seattle and When Harry Met Sally, where she's got her career and she's in a relationship.

[45:20] Stan Mallow: Sandra Bullock's character, she lost her dad, who she loved, and now she's just been on her own, and she doesn't have a lot of people in her life. She has her cat, she's got her boss, and that's about it. But she's got this dream of wanting to travel and escape where she's at and see the world and fill out her passport. So she has that, but she's also in love with this guy she sees every day at her job. But then Bill Pullman comes along, and he's like, I love you, and we'll make this dream of yours a reality.

[46:01] Peter Boyle: And it all happened while you were sleeping.

[46:04] Stan Mallow: Yeah, I think it's a beautiful movie. I think it's super sweet, and everybody in it is great. It's only like an hour, 40 minutes, and nothing's wasted. All the characters in it hit out of the park. I loved it. So that's my third.

[46:22] Peter Boyle: There it is. Yeah, this was good. Again, like I said, there are a lot of romantic comedy movies that we could do a whole each other's top 10, knowing each other's top two already, or top three. We could easily dive into other things as well.

[46:41] Stan Mallow: Yeah, I think this was fun, and I'm glad that we were able to broach this genre.

[46:48] Peter Boyle: Yeah, no, I love this genre. I feel like there might be a renaissance happening in the last two years of romantic comedies. But as I've gotten older, they just haven't been hit like they did when I was late in the 80s and the 90s. I feel much like in the 40s, where there were some great romantic comedies, the 80s and 90s also had a really good run, where they were putting out a lot of really quality romantic comedies.

[47:15] Stan Mallow: Yeah.

[47:16] Peter Boyle: Very nice.

[47:17] Stan Mallow: With that, everybody, that brings an end to our top three rom-coms episode. But we hope that you enjoyed it. If you haven't seen any of these movies that we've talked about, do yourself a favor, go check them out. They're great. You're not going to be disappointed. I need to check out Moonstruck again.

[47:36] Peter Boyle: I was going to say, some might be more difficult to find than others. But yeah, absolutely. If you haven't seen them, or if you haven't seen them in a while, do yourself a favor and catch them on a rewatch or introduce yourself to them for the first time.

[47:48] Stan Mallow: Yeah. All right, guys. Thanks so much for listening. Once again, I'm Olaf. We got J.J. And this is our Back to the Movie Theater podcast. Thanks for listening. And we'll catch you next time.

[48:00] Peter Boyle: To be continued.