Sleepless in Seattle (1993)
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Transcript
Steph (00:00)
In a different version of this movie, with but the smallest effort of editing, she is a
like, what was she planning to say? Like, I wrote you a letter and you didn't answer me. I love
Welcome to Popcorn Moms, the podcast for parents who love their kids most, but loved movies first. We're your co-host Stephanie.
Netta (00:25)
and Netta, two movie lovers turned moms. Join us. Two losers, two fucking losers.
That is it. Two losers turned moms.
Steph (00:35)
Yeah.
Netta (00:43)
All right.
Steph (00:46)
Welcome to Popcorn Moms, the podcast for parents who love their kids most, but loved movies first. We're your co-host Stephanie.
Netta (00:54)
And Netta, two movie lovers turned moms.
Join us as we reconnect with the things that make us whole outside of parenthood, namely watching movies. Today's movie is Sleepless in Seattle, a 1993 American romantic comedy directed by Nora Ephron and starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. After the death of his wife, Sam Baldwin, played by Tom Hanks, moves to Seattle with his son, Jonah.
When Jonah calls into a talk radio program to find a new wife for his dad, Sam grudgingly gets on the line to discuss his feelings. Annie Reed, played by Meg Ryan, a reporter in Baltimore, hears Sam speak and falls for him, even though she's engaged. Unsure where it will lead, she writes Sam a letter asking him to meet her at the Empire State Building on Valentine's Day. So this was Stephanie's pick.
Steph (01:44)
Yes?
Netta (01:45)
So why did you choose this movie?
Steph (01:47)
chose this movie mainly because we are in a rom-com vibe as you know we sometimes get moods of what we feel like and this is where the mood was going we wanted something romantic something comedic or just romantic or rom-com whatever and when I was thinking about what one to pick there's there's many obviously
Netta (01:54)
Mm-hmm.
Steph (02:12)
But this one is quote unquote a classic. Many people have seen it. I never have. And I know you never had. And I think you actually suggested it once and then did like an about face. So I knew that like you'd be game to watch it. And it was like, you know what? Maybe now is the time to check this one off the bucket list. So that's why I chose it.
Netta (02:34)
What did you think?
Steph (02:35)
Well.
Netta (02:36)
Yeah. Yeah.
Steph (02:37)
Well, I think
that... I don't know, I've been thinking for days about how to... Like... I didn't like it. I didn't hate it. It just existed. And then it was over. And I was like, that's good! I am glad this is over. And I will now go on with my life.
Netta (02:47)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah. Yes. Yeah.
Yeah, yeah.
Steph (03:05)
like
unimpacted, neutral. But like, you how you watch the movies and it was like, that was fun. And then you walk away and it's like a fun neutral. This was just like, like I found myself continuously checking how much was left, which is never a good sign. But I also didn't hate it. I didn't even care enough to hate it. What is worse than hate? Indifference.
Netta (03:08)
Mmm. Mmm.
Mmm, no, not a good sign.
Yeah.
Steph (03:30)
what did you think?
Netta (03:31)
I feel like I had a similar reaction. I would say that there were things about it that I liked. there are things that you can kind of pull out. I think just the overall story fell very flat for me.
Steph (03:34)
Okay.
Okay.
Right?
Netta (03:47)
I was thinking about it today and it just has not really left much of an impression. Like I haven't been thinking about it. It has a, like again, like it's over and it's like, okay, it's done now. I'm glad I, yeah. I'm glad I watched it, but if it wasn't considered a classic, I'm not sure that I would be glad that I.
Steph (03:51)
None. None impression. Nope.
Right. See like, okay, now I'm to go do this.
Me too.
Netta (04:10)
watched it particularly.
I just have to call this out because, and I'm sure a million people have called this out already. I don't care. It needs to be said.
Bill, I believe his name is. No, the character who is, ⁓ yeah, no, Bill Pullman. Yes. What was his? Walter. I thought his name was Bill. God damn it. I'm just gonna call him Bill. Bill Pullman, who is great and whose character is such a class act. And like Eric came,
Steph (04:18)
Bill Pullman?
Walter.
I know right? That's how vanilla the situation is. It's ⁓ bland. Okay. Yeah. Bill Pullman. Who's great. I love Bill Pullman.
Yeah, I know. He's great.
Netta (04:46)
to the movie partway through. And I think he came into a scene that Bill Pullman was in. So I was explaining like, that's the fiance, blah, blah. He's not the love interest. And he's like, well, what's wrong with him? He's like handsome and has a good job and just seems nice. ⁓ And I'm like, well, he has allergies.
Steph (04:49)
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
He's kind.
God I have a note like in my notes legitimately that's like
I legitimately have a note that I wrote down. Like, usually the other, like the current fiance, the current boyfriend, whatever, is awful. And so it makes you the person to leave that person. And so I have a note legitimately. It's like, okay, what's going to be the thing that is the deteriorations. And then I wrote like dot dot dot. And I was like, the allergies. Like she's irritated.
Netta (05:31)
Yep.
Steph (05:32)
about his allergies? I was like, my god, you're shitty.
Netta (05:34)
Yeah.
Yeah. I think that when I was trying to justify this to Eric, what I said was, you know, he's kind of fussy, but even though he's not really, just, has allergies and he needs to do things about that. ⁓ But I mean, you know, it's the fact that like their relationship is very, yes. She's not in love.
Steph (05:47)
Yeah. No. Just...
is just not magical, like she doesn't have that spark. But for some reason they frame it up.
Netta (06:02)
Yeah, she's not in love with him. And that's
Steph (06:02)
No. No.
Netta (06:04)
fair, because that just that happens. ⁓ You know, people. Yeah, I know they have to like give him a fatal flaw and it's allergies, I guess.
Steph (06:07)
Yeah, that's fine, but I don't know why they have to blame the allergies.
But like Tom Hanks' girlfriend, it was her laugh. These are the things that drove them together. Allergies and bad laughs.
Netta (06:20)
Her laugh, yeah.
Yeah,
yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, you can't have magic with someone who has allergies.
Steph (06:30)
I know ⁓ that's the takeaway. It's too high maintenance. Don't bother.
Netta (06:32)
That's what I learned.
Yeah, yeah. Well, it gets in the way of the romance. mean, yeah,
I don't, I don't know. I don't know. I...
Steph (06:48)
I know, I'm sure there's threads
devoted to this idea. Like, I love though at the end when she does do the break off. movies have that scene where the person comes forward and does the official like, we are not meant to be. I'm so sorry, we have to go separate ways. This was another problem of mine about how he was like, okay. Like he was just like, that's fine. But I loved when he was like, or when she was like, you're too good for me. And he was like, correct. I love.
Netta (06:52)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Yeah,
Steph (07:15)
Because I feel like that's not something you see a lot, but it's like, yes, correct. Like everyone's
Netta (07:15)
yeah, it is correct. ⁓ Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Steph (07:23)
going to be better off because of this break up. it was also like, anyway, amidst the other problems, like she says that and he's like, OK, have a good time. no, there's no feeling. There's no passion in this movie for me.
Netta (07:35)
Well, okay, okay, let's pick up on that because I think the idea that there's no passion with him fits. That's kind of the issue. But say more about there's no passion in the movie for you.
Steph (07:41)
Yes. Yes.
I just kind of said it. think
I feel like I feel like no, I do have a note around I know it's kind of a bit of a different rom-com style because they don't meet until the end and they don't really engage with each other until the end, but they put other relationships like They built them up above and beyond that one
as the movie goes on and they're talking, like he's talking about his wife who passed and they're having flashbacks and sharing memories. I'm like, this is beautiful. Like he will never love anybody like this. Like no one else is good enough. Like I became so invested in like their love story that I came to be like, I do not care about you finding someone else because this is the story. And then his relationship with his son and how they're getting on.
Netta (08:22)
Mm-hmm.
Steph (08:33)
Like those, I found that to be much more of where like I found a life and passion. not at all with the Meg Ryan character in that story. I think the pacing of that was really weird for me. I thought based on the description
Netta (08:39)
Mmm.
Steph (08:50)
he would continuously be on the radio and she would continuously be hearing about him and falling in love with him. But it was like one night that she listened to him and then was like completely going to upend her whole life. And then I think when she does finally admit that she was like really into him, it's like so quick in the movie. nothing has really occurred. I don't know. And there wasn't enough. I think other movies have done this where it's like
Netta (08:53)
Mmm.
Mm.
Steph (09:14)
this out of nowhere thing, but I feel like they didn't build it up enough. And I was so consumed by this relationship he has, he had with his wife who passed. That's where I was like, oh, like, I feel like they didn't do themselves favors in that way. What do you think?
Netta (09:27)
Mmm.
Yeah, it's true. They kind of have this big challenge of the fact that they don't meet until the very end, basically. ⁓
Steph (09:34)
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Netta (09:41)
And yeah, they maybe put obstacles in the way of that working. mean, again, noting that this obviously works for many people, but I think for us, what I thought was gonna happen was she gets assigned to cover this story.
Steph (09:52)
Yes, like this is a classic for a reason,
Hmm,
yes.
Netta (10:00)
right,
because the son calls into the radio station, he ends up on the line, he has this like beautiful thing about how much he loved his wife. And all of these women are calling the station now all of these women are sending him letters. So I thought the story would be her as a journalist.
Steph (10:09)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Yes.
Engaging with him in that way. Yes.
Netta (10:18)
And you know, yes, them kind of
meeting that way and blah, And that's not what happens. she writes him a letter as a fangirl. The son likes it and they meet on the Empire State building in the end. And there's like a lot of stuff in between or there's stuff in between to establish that they're like destined for each other.
Steph (10:26)
Yeah!
Mm-hmm.
Netta (10:38)
but I think that part I also didn't find super strong. ⁓ like it, it kind of reminded me of the movie Serendipity,
there, I feel like they really take this idea and kind of like amp it up.
Steph (10:51)
really like
destiny it. Yeah.
Netta (10:54)
Yeah,
I mean, in this case, in that case, the two leads, do meet at the beginning and then they kind of go their own separate ways. And then they get together again, I think like right at the last scene, basically. But in between, there's all of these like near misses and parallels and things you find out that are important to them that they have in common and blah, blah, blah. that
Steph (11:06)
Hmm.
Mmm.
Netta (11:17)
you kind of get a sense that like actually maybe there is something here. I think because it gets amped up, there's kind of more.
into what connects those two characters despite them not actually sharing 80 % of the movie?
Steph (11:27)
Yeah.
Yeah, and like the I think we talked a lot last time about intolerable cruelty and like tension, the idea of tension. I feel like this movie completely lacked tension. so to your point about this idea of like there keeps being signs that they're like meant for each other. I wrote some of them down because they bothered me because it was almost like they were just recreating the wife. Like the scene when you see my grand's character peeling the apple.
Netta (11:41)
Mmm. Interesting.
Mmm.
Steph (12:01)
and she's listening to the radio and he's talking about how his wife like peel an apple or he's talking to his son about the wife could peel an apple and what and she's doing it. It's like, okay, so we're just taking all the qualities of the wife and we're going to apply them to her. like just her so seamlessly, like there's a son and she finds his backpack and then it creates this like really easy, like, here's your bag.
Netta (12:01)
Yeah.
Steph (12:21)
It just connect them right away. it's just, there was no tension. There was no like, I don't know. It just was very like surface level maybe the things that connect them.
Netta (12:21)
Mm.
Hmm.
Hmm.
yes,
you have to be willing to go with this idea of like destiny and soulmates and people meant for each other. ⁓
Steph (12:39)
Mm-hmm.
Netta (12:42)
Okay, I think.
Steph (12:43)
Yes.
Netta (12:43)
What makes these two characters stand out, right? Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan in each of their worlds, which are very separate from each other, they each kind of have their own universes, is that they are romantics, right? He is very old fashioned, right? He cannot imagine not paying for a meal on a date as the man, for example. ⁓ And she's very old fashioned in that
Steph (12:57)
Yes.
Yes.
Netta (13:09)
she wants a movie love story. She wants that movie experience of love.
Steph (13:12)
Yeah.
Netta (13:15)
That's kind of what, I think that's what it is. I think that's what connects them. know, guess it just like the idea that they hold on to these values and these hopes and these ideas, even as everybody around them.
Steph (13:18)
Like, many people want that in life.
Netta (13:33)
is cynical or settles or whatever.
Steph (13:38)
I feel like it wasn't to your point that you made earlier. It wasn't enough. Like they didn't build that up enough and differentiate themselves from the people around them enough. Walter, Bill Pullman, quite the romantic. They're at a ball, they're at this, he wants to take her to the plaza. Like this man is also a romantic person. It's just the magic that's missing. I was going to say though,
Netta (13:45)
Yes, yes.
Mm.
Steph (14:04)
What's really funny about you saying like, think what brings them together is their views on ramens, is one of the reviews I read on Rotten Tomatoes when I was thinking about picking this, it was like, it's a great story about a long distance relationship about two people who have two different views on love and how they come together. I know it's really funny to me that both of us are like, is this the thing that connects them?
Netta (14:23)
interesting.
Steph (14:29)
Either like we're missing something or I don't know
Netta (14:33)
Okay,
I think so. Okay, first about Bill Pullman. I mean, yes, he takes her to this New Year's Eve ball thing and it's very nice. But you know, he's talking logistics, I think during that time, like, I think they really undercut any kind of romance that he has, even though, you know, he has like, the ring is really beautiful and kind of as a gesture and whatever. But I guess you could say that
Steph (14:40)
Yeah!
Yeah.
Netta (15:00)
know, Tom Hanks has this kind of old fashioned idea. he is a gentleman in the classic sense of the word, right? And she is a modern woman. She's got a job. She's got her like this kind of no-nonsense, not no-nonsense marriage, but this very practical marriage. ⁓
Steph (15:10)
Mm-hmm.
Hmm.
Netta (15:19)
But she longs for a more romantic love, a more sweeping love. She longs for that ⁓ that idea, that soulmates feeling.
Steph (15:28)
Hmm
Yeah.
Netta (15:33)
her arc is basically going from... ⁓
Steph (15:37)
what's
practical to like.
Netta (15:39)
practical and modern to traditional and romantic. And his arc is going from I will never love again to I can love again, but in the same way, like still with that kind of take.
Steph (15:41)
her heart. Yeah, like following
spare.
Yes. And I was going to
say, okay. But I think for me as a viewer, what really takes away from that is how they build up his relationship with his wife so much. It is just really like, and I think he has this really good line of like, you don't love like that twice or something like that. And like, that is such a romantic thought. I've seen like similar things said in other movies. And so like to me,
Netta (16:12)
Mm. Yeah. Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
Steph (16:23)
As we've talked about that hopeless romantic, I love that. Like it really puts that love ahead of anything else. Like that was it. And so then to insinuate through this that, ⁓ his other soulmate is actually Meg Ryan or another soulmate. It's like, ⁓ that kind of ruins the idea.
Netta (16:29)
Mmm.
Yeah, I mean, they kind of they have the the son voice this idea that if in a past life, you didn't get together with your soulmate, that means that you'll have to get together with them. Like, that's the idea that like, yes, Tom Hanks and his first wife were soul our soulmates, I guess.
Steph (16:52)
Yeah.
Netta (16:59)
from this life, but then Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks were soulmates in a past life and didn't get together as another gang together now. it's true. The soulmates thing is like a hard sell when the main thing about him where we know that he is a gentleman.
Steph (17:10)
It's a hard sell when you sell us on someone else first.
Mm-hmm.
Netta (17:19)
is
that he was so in love, is that he married his soulmate and knew it and recognized it and loved her.
Steph (17:21)
Yes. Yeah.
Netta (17:26)
So then it's a very hard thing to say to then turn around and make it a love story between him and someone else. Especially when, yeah, especially when they're not together, when there isn't a way for them to really fall in love.
Steph (17:33)
I know, I just was not feeling it.
it to grow.
Netta (17:44)
it's also, it's a weird thing because...
Maybe because it is just so, it feels very transparently like her fantasy that her letter is the one that stands out. When I think to me as a viewer, feels like, no, she's one of 2000 women who called in the show and one of hundreds or thousands of women who a letter to him. Yeah.
Steph (18:03)
thousand
Netta (18:13)
I think it's the combination of him loving his wife so dearly and them not actually being together in the movie, which is exactly what you were saying. Basically this idea of soulmates.
Steph (18:23)
Mm-hmm.
yeah, the whole throw in of like soulmates, Destiny, I don't know. It just wasn't strong enough, I guess.
Netta (18:33)
Yeah, I feel like this is one of those movies where I really do. Yeah, I really do almost worry about like, what am I missing here? What am I missing?
Steph (18:42)
Right?
I don't know. Like, are we? I know I questioned at the end, like, I feel so blah about this. Did I miss something huge or is it because honestly, Nitta, it started out like, okay, so we talked about rom-coms a lot after watching Intoluble Cruelty and I came down pretty hard. I got to say.
Netta (18:51)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
Steph (19:06)
Then I stepped away and thought about it. And I realized there's a good solid number of rom-coms that I not only like, but love and have watched over and over and over. And so I really started to still like why. And so there's like maybe four actresses that I like. If they're in a rom-com, I'm there for it. It's really weird. Julie, ⁓ Julie Romer. ⁓ Drew Barrymore. Love me a Drew Barrymore. Meg Ryan is one.
Netta (19:15)
Yeah.
Julie Roberts.
Mm-hmm.
⁓ yeah.
Steph (19:36)
as well.
Netta (19:36)
Okay.
Steph (19:38)
Diane Lane. I love all of her. ⁓
Netta (19:39)
Really? Ooh.
Don't, she's probably the person I've seen the least movies of, of who you just said.
Steph (19:46)
⁓
I almost picked one first. then this might be people ContraVolta Choice, Jennifer Lopez. Her romcoms, slap. They're good. They're really good.
Netta (19:53)
yeah, ⁓ absolutely, absolutely. Yeah,
I think she's very talented and ⁓ yeah, no, I'm 100 % on board with that, yeah.
Steph (20:04)
Romcoms
So I did reflecting on romcoms. There is the five women less so Meg Ryan, but I'm still here for it. If they're in romcom, good chances are I'm going to really like it. And then the other thing is like a bit of a atypical storyline.
The one of the things that I can't stand is the like, will they won't they like it makes me feel actually physically ill and the like, because they absolutely will. So like, let's just get to it. And then the like ships passing in the night, the misunderstandings and they keep just missing each other. I can't stand that. Whereas so this movie for me, Sleepless in Seattle, it started out pretty strong in terms of the setup. Like you have. Like.
Netta (20:25)
Yeah, because you know they will.
Mm-hmm.
⁓
Mmm.
Steph (20:44)
a widower situation, not like a terrible ex-wife. That's interesting. It's different. For Meg Ryan, you have a fiance who's not terrible. He's not the worst. So that's interesting. I wondered, like I said, what's going to be the thing? It must be this great love and passion. No, that fell flat. Like, I feel like they set up all these really interesting, like we have a distance moment. We have a falling in love over the, there was the radio, there was so many interesting little things that they could have
played with to make this atypical.
Netta (21:13)
Mm-hmm.
Steph (21:14)
And I feel like they all like fell super flat and they leaned and then in the second half to like these tropes like when she goes to the house to like meet him and then she sees them going away on the boat and then she follows them and then she sees the other woman in the parking lot. I was going to vomit. I was like, I cannot. I my heart palpitations, the anxiety I was having. I was like, she's walked up to this house to meet them.
Netta (21:19)
Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah.
Insane. Insane.
Steph (21:38)
You're in the boat and now I guess she'll just go home. And that is pretty much what happens. I died. I was like... Like you fly all the way there and you just say hello and then get back and you're like, what the f- Like that's not what people do. I'm getting so heated about it right now. Anyway, you know what I said?
Netta (21:53)
Yeah,
I mean that whole sequence was insane to me. I mean, I think this is...
Steph (22:01)
Tell
me why! I want to know that it's not just me.
Netta (22:06)
I think this is about where Eric came into a little bit before. It was just like, I couldn't defend anything. She's just straight up stalking him. Again, it would be one thing if she was there to ⁓ do the story, but it wasn't that.
Steph (22:17)
No, okay.
do the story and he was expecting her.
Netta (22:26)
I think, okay, I do think you really have to give rom-coms a big pass on like normal human behavior. They are their own world. We talked about this with intolerable cruelty. I mean, it's sort of like a parallel world where everything is like so close yet so far. Jobs don't really work in the same way. Like she never does any work. She's at her job a lot, but she doesn't do any work. That's fine.
Steph (22:35)
I know he's a boss. Yes. ⁓
Mm-hmm. Yeah, people never go to work. No.
No, he also
doesn't do any work. But they gave him a good job. A little bit of work.
Netta (22:54)
He also, doesn't, well, no, you do actually see him at work a little bit.
Yeah, a bit. But ⁓ he, so I think you have to give it a big pass, but like, it was hard for me to view her going up to the house, then getting in the car, following them in the boat from the road, pulling over, like, like.
kind of peeking out from behind these beach houses or beach shops, whatever. I just, I feel like I did not really get the...
Steph (23:20)
Yeah.
AC.
Netta (23:29)
emotional arc of that whole sequence. Like, what was I supposed to react to that? I guess her fear and her like that she wants it, but she's afraid and blah, blah. But all I could think was like,
It just it didn't come off as much more than anything other than being a weirdo psycho stalker.
Steph (23:49)
Right? Like, I thought of this as well. In a different version of this movie, with but the smallest effort of editing, she is a psycho. Like, like, like this man is just living his life. He went on a radio show and talked for two hours, maybe about his wife, a bunch of women that he actually himself thinks are like crazy loner, desperate women, right to him call whatever. And then one of them.
Netta (23:59)
hahahahah
Steph (24:17)
decides to fly across the country, drive to his house, follow him in his car with his son, right? Like it just, like, what was she planning to say? Like, I wrote you a letter and you didn't answer me. I love you. it was because they haven't built this up enough. also feel like the, if you want to work within the realm of normalcy, the normal thing,
Netta (24:23)
with his son when he's with his son.
Steph (24:41)
to do if you want to normalize she flies across the country because she thinks this is the man of her dreams they got to build that up more one but two she shouldn't follow him in the car she should sit her ass down on the porch and wait for them to come back and then introduce herself properly but like when she started calling around to get their number i was like this is weird
Netta (24:53)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Or at least like go there planning to use the story as a cover. Even if, even if she knows, she has now admitted to herself, no, I like, I feel like I need to get to know this guy. Even if she's like self-aware about her true motivations, it would be less weird, I think, for her to also do a story. It would, it would still be weird.
Steph (25:05)
That's what I thought she was gonna do.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Netta (25:28)
but it would be less
weird, I think, what happened there. I think that scene was like a breaking point for me.
Steph (25:35)
This is,
I think this is where I lost it too, because I think some of the interesting things that they were toying with, like I had a couple of problems like her coming out saying that she had feelings for him. Like, I think that happened way too soon and they were really emulating the wife and they really built up the soulmate situation with the wife. So I had a couple issues already, but it hadn't totally lost me. And then as soon as it like went that way with the like playing the quirky music in the back too, like this is supposed to be silly and fun and they've just missed each other. now
She's going to see him, but not say anything. I was, like I said, like my heart was racing because I was so anxious in a very uncomfortable way and I hated it.
Netta (26:11)
Mm.
Yeah. going back to what you were saying about like, for you with the rom-com, you know, I think for me, this is my, my, my rom-com approach, I guess. I think a rom-com needs two things to work, both of which are subjective. But
Steph (26:18)
Mmm, yeah.
Let's hear it.
Netta (26:30)
One is that it has to be entertaining. It has to be funny. You have to enjoy watching it. And this had moments that I found very entertaining that I was really into, but on the whole, not that much. And I think it has to have a love thesis that is, its idea of love has to be at least not objectionable. I don't even have to be super into it.
Steph (26:35)
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm, yes.
Netta (26:58)
But at the very least, have to think that it's not like just totally dumb or even worse that it's like actually a horrible idea about.
Steph (27:07)
Mm-hmm.
Netta (27:07)
And in this case, it's like the love thesis was soulmates in like a very literal kind of a way, like these two people, because that's the only way this movie makes any sense. I, it's, I do find it objectionable, I guess, because I don't like that idea. Yeah, I don't like that idea. And I think in this case, it kind of serves as cover for like insane behavior.
Steph (27:12)
Yeah, yeah.
Mm-hmm.
Yes, I find it highly objectable. Yes, I- ⁓
Netta (27:33)
it's a, it feels kind of objectionable in that way, I guess. it's kind of thumbs down on both those counts for me.
Steph (27:39)
Yeah. Do you think
this would have been a better movie? if they had really just focused on this man, Tom Hanks, he has lost his beloved wife. We don't even have to see like their relationship because he talks about it so well. Like you can follow that same opening, right? Like she has passed, they're at the funeral and he jumped 18 months later, they move. It's about him learning to live again.
It's about his son navigating that. And it's about him trying to get into the dating pool and thinking like, it's kind of hopeless. but then he meets somebody who makes him feel alive again. would that have been a better movie?
Netta (28:15)
Mm.
again, we are like armchair script supervisors or whatever, or armchair screenwriters here, but I like this direction because what it allows you to do is, like what he's learning is that, you know, he thought of him and his wife as soulmates in this very particular way. ⁓
Steph (28:19)
Hahaha!
Mm-hmm.
Netta (28:35)
but he becomes open to the idea that that can be experienced with somebody else, not with anybody, but that there could be, know, destiny could, him with somebody else in the same profound magical way. And then what you get is like, you know, this letter from this other woman that he's never heard of that his son keeps going on about, and then there's this woman who shows up at the airport.
Steph (28:41)
Hmm
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Netta (29:00)
⁓ that he sees who's just like so beautiful and something is so striking about her. And then she's like on the road, whatever, like, and then he sees her somewhere else and they have like this very brief interaction. And then it turns out it's her on the top of the Empire State Building or something. I still don't love it, to be honest. That's still not gonna like really get me, I think so much. But I think that is...
Steph (29:26)
Bye.
Netta (29:28)
better for me. Yes.
Steph (29:30)
For sure, am busting right now because I was going to say this about 15 minutes ago because I do truly feel that is the best version of the movie. But guess what movie that is? You've Got Mail. Have you seen You've Got Mail? ⁓ So, audience, I was toying between choosing Sleepless in Seattle or You've Got Mail. I love.
Netta (29:39)
Mm.
No, I haven't, I-
Steph (29:55)
You've got mail. I watch it every Christmas. I love it so, so, so much. I threw both of these choices to Nada saying like, I'm leaning sleep with a salad because I haven't seen it, but I could go this way too. I was nervous about picking it because I didn't want us to like rip it apart because I love it so much. So I chose this and within 45 minutes, I was so regretful. I was feeling so much regret. And I feel like this movie...
Netta (29:56)
Mmm.
Steph (30:19)
kind of semi ruined a little bit of You've Got Mail for me and the chemistry that they had. Yeah, I'm I'm bummed. Anyway, that is the plot of You Got Mail that two people like, not exactly that, but like one of them knows, right, comes to know that like the person they've been messaging with is that person and the other person doesn't find out. my God, the chemistry, the romance, the reveal. I love it so, it's so good.
Netta (30:44)
You
Steph (30:46)
It's like a way better version of this. Yeah, so yeah, that's so funny because I was gonna say that and I was like, but that's just the other movie they did together like five years later. Much better. So fun.
Netta (30:49)
Okay, all right, fair, yeah.
Yeah. Interesting.
Those would be, yeah, it would be fun if we watched both of those for one. But yeah, I think that's too much. ⁓
Steph (31:04)
I know.
Netta (31:09)
OK, one thing about this movie, though, that I think we can appreciate is ⁓ all of the supporting cast. Victor Garbo, Victor Garbo, Victor Garber, Canadian Treasure, David Hyde Pierce.
Steph (31:13)
Yes.
Yes, I was just...
Oh yes, absolutely.
I know! I know! I was like, is that a young Gaby? It is!
Netta (31:26)
Gabby Hoffman?
Kenny from
Frazier!
Kenny from Frasier.
Steph (31:32)
yeah!
He's in the, yeah, the boardroom at the beginning. Mm-hmm. Yes!
Netta (31:36)
Yeah, Rob Reiner as
bestie to Tom Hanks. Rosie O'Donnell.
Steph (31:41)
Yep. Yes. Wish we see-
my god, I know, I was like, my god, it's Rosie O'Donnell. It's crazy. It's crazy. Who is Victor?
Netta (31:46)
So good. Yeah.
He's the ⁓ Tom Hanks' brother-in-law.
Steph (31:50)
in the movie.
⁓ yes, yes, yes. it like minimally, but yes. And Rita Wilson, like there was a lot of really good.
Netta (31:56)
Yes, yes, he's, yes. Rita
Wilson delivered, I think, my favorite part. the part where she's summarizing an affair to remember, and she's getting teary. That part I loved. I actually loved that scene. And it's a scene, it was interesting. usually this kind of like,
Steph (32:05)
Yeah, and she's getting all emotional. Yeah.
Yes. See?
Netta (32:15)
of like the difference between men and women is that women are so emotional and men get emotional about war and women get, you know, like, it's not the kind of thing that usually speaks to me, but I think her delivery of it and I don't know, just the whole setup, I just, I really enjoyed that. I think that that worked really well and was really, and also just useful for the audience who has not seen ⁓ an Affair to Remember.
Steph (32:18)
Yeah. Yeah.
I know.
I think that scene, I like that scene as well a lot. like their Tom Hanks and Victor Garber's banter about it too. Like thought that was actually one of the truly like amusing moments of the movie. But it's interesting because what I loved a lot about that scene was like these are two people that are not only like family, but like dear friends to him and were his wife. And them coming to visit, like you feel the, I at least felt the absence.
Netta (32:49)
Yes, yes, yes, yes.
Mmm.
Steph (33:09)
of his wife. And it really strengthened, again, this idea that his wife was his other. And so, yeah, anyway, not to go back to all of that, but just I really like that scene for like many reasons and that being one of them. like, yeah, Rita Wilson, like she delivers her monologue so well. And like you kind of do get emotional and maybe that's, yeah, like.
Netta (33:10)
you
Mmm.
No, so true,
Steph (33:30)
Meg Ryan, though I like her many movies, she is the same. Like she's quite a character of herself. And so when she's talking about it and getting romantic, talking about the movie, watching it with Rosie O'Donnell, I don't know. It didn't hit the same at all as when Rita Wilson did it.
Netta (33:41)
Yeah, yeah,
yeah. I think the scene though where Meg Ryan and Rosie O'Donnell are watching it and mouthing along to the script, I did like that. I enjoyed that quite a bit. Yeah, I think that the, yes, I did, I did. I thought it was cozy. I feel like cozy is often the word used to describe like these type of rom-coms.
Steph (33:50)
Mm-hmm. You did?
She did. She did like it.
Mmm,
yes, it is a warm rom-com. It's not like a slapstick. It's like a warm and cozy bundle up with like cocoa and a blanket and a girlfriend.
Netta (34:08)
Yes. No.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah. But maybe for us it was lukewarm.
Steph (34:18)
at us.
Netta (34:20)
Yeah, sad.
Steph (34:23)
So So sad.
I was just looking at my notes, speaking about like cast and stuff. I love Tom Hanks in comedic roles so much. like, this is, I did enjoy him a lot in this movie. I think you got a lot of his versatility through this movie. Like you got him being like the dramatic kind of serious, like mournful husband.
Netta (34:33)
Mm. Yeah.
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Steph (34:45)
You got him being like angry when he's fighting with his son. You got him being silly and funny. Like I just, I really, really, really like him. And I think this movie, he got to showcase a lot of that. And I feel like he was there for like, like he was showing up. Like he made us believe in a soulmate story with someone who's in maybe 30 seconds of a scene with him. And I feel like I don't want to blame her, but Meg Ryan, I know.
Netta (34:54)
Hmm.
Mmm. Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Steph (35:10)
Tom Hanks showed up for me.
Netta (35:11)
Yeah, think Meg Ryan adds a lot of energy. Like, very energetic. She's like very physical, right? Like the flailing arms and the big, yeah, exactly. Exactly. And like, and in that way, I can see how these two storylines maybe balance each other out where he's got like,
Steph (35:15)
Yeah, she's very energetic. And maybe that wasn't the vibe.
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
in the closet with the stereo and the phone. Yeah.
Netta (35:36)
His story has a bit more gravitas and her story has a bit more silliness. And I can see how those might, those kind of play off of each other potentially, but.
Steph (35:41)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah, but again, they only
go to about like a four out of 10 because that's an interesting angle too, but they don't lean into that enough. I think.
Netta (35:52)
Yeah.
Yeah, yeah, I
guess maybe because.
Maybe because the like that zany, quirky, not even zany and quirky, but just like that very physicality kind of silly kind of kind of slapstick thing for Meg Ryan.
Steph (36:05)
Bainy is a
Netta (36:14)
This point feels more like...
⁓ something you need from a character in a rom-com. It's kind of part of the rom-com formula rather than something that's like really specific to this character that is balancing out something that is really specific to Tom Hanks' character.
Steph (36:24)
Mm.
Wait, say that again. So you're saying like her being like that is something is like a necessary ingredient versus a choice in the movie to make her this way. Yes.
Netta (36:39)
Yeah, yeah, I guess
it doesn't feel like it plays into the soulmate thing of it because it's just kind of something that has to be there. Whereas, you know, maybe if we're seeing this kind of in 1993, maybe it feels more like, I don't know, maybe not. But it could, I think it could. just, that didn't land for me now that I'm thinking about it.
Steph (37:00)
What think?
Netta (37:06)
you know, it's kind of there, but.
Steph (37:07)
Yeah, do you think like, cause I also Googled like what are just like romantic movies, like not rom-coms, just romantic. Cause to me it's interesting cause I read a review that was like, this one is truly a rom-com. It delivers on comedy. It delivers on romance reflecting two very real people, which is very interesting given our prior comment about how it's so unrealistic. But I feel like this one for me.
Netta (37:12)
Yeah.
Mmm.
Mm.
Steph (37:32)
leaned way more to like the romance story. And to your point, I think that's why some of the comedy, especially like coming from her felt a little out of place. Like the comedy, think that Tom Hanks brings to it with his son and the friend, like that seems a little more organic because you're not supposed to be like laugh out loud. It's more of like just humor that people experience in every day. But her, the comedy that she's bringing in the over to the topness and stuff, you're right. Like it seems a bit.
Netta (37:41)
Mm. Mm-hmm.
Steph (37:59)
out of place, like maybe if they had just kind of kept this like about like a little hopeless romantic movie might have been a bit stronger.
Netta (38:05)
Mmm.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, you know, okay.
Steph (38:09)
Like, and why do they have to, sorry, I don't want to interrupt your thought. I was just saying, like, why thinking in that vein, like, why do they have to have her have a fiance? Why can't she just be a single woman who's dreaming about a true love and she listens to the radio show and it's a continued program. So he's on all the time and she's obsessed with living it, like with listening to him and she falls in love with listening to him. And she's such a whole like, why does she have to have another? Why do people always have to have others and the leaving of the others, the grand gesture.
Netta (38:12)
Mm-mm.
Well, I think you might have just answered the question. Yeah. Because a sacrifice. Yeah. A sacrifice. Yeah. Yeah. ⁓
Steph (38:40)
Yeah, as I said that I was like, that's why. Because for somebody to uproot their lives, something has to be sacrificed to demonstrate true love. When did you...
Yeah, there was a movie we watched and you were like, a sacrifice must occur.
Netta (38:56)
think that was maybe intolerable cruelty when we were watching that.
Steph (38:59)
yes yes
And this I think the leaving of the other is a big sacrifice because they are like good people. Like he is a good person, right?
Netta (39:03)
Yeah, but I.
Yeah.
I think though it's also because you need contrast to show, you know, it's not enough.
Steph (39:12)
Mm.
Netta (39:15)
Or I think one of the things that Bill Pullman's character is supposed to strengthen is the idea that...
of what she's rejecting, right? The practical, the kind, the passionless, the, you know, that idea. ⁓ Yeah. Well, just like, like I think it helps us make sense of the choice. Like I think we can understand things better by contrast. So we understand what ⁓ Tom Hanks is about in terms of like,
Steph (39:22)
Mmm
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm. You know, let's keep going.
Netta (39:47)
her attraction to Tom Hanks and her wanting to pursue this path because it's in contrast to Bill Pullman, which is not risky at all, which is passionless, I guess, which is safe, which is fussy, which is not romantic, which has no magic. It's to show us what no magic looks like. No magic can be great.
Steph (40:05)
I
I know.
No magic as allergies.
Netta (40:14)
No magic can work,
but there's allergies involved.
Steph (40:20)
So
clearly it is not magical,
I was gonna say, what bothers me though about like the idea that like she kind of is moving away from him because she realizes he's the safe and practical choice and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, and he's fuzzy, is that throughout the movie, you continuously, it seems very earnestly say, no, I love Walter. I love him. What am I doing? Like up until almost she leaves him. And I think, I think there's,
Netta (40:45)
But she's clearly lying to herself. She's trying to convince
herself.
Steph (40:49)
There's movies, I think, that have done that better. And I don't know if that just comes down to her acting. I feel like too, she's torn. she does love him, but maybe not enough. It just, I don't know.
Netta (40:52)
Mm.
⁓
But in this movie, it's like you either love someone and that's the magic or you don't.
Steph (41:07)
You know what movie does it better? You've got mail.
Netta (41:08)
Mm.
Steph (41:11)
They both have others. And it's, yeah, it's much better. ⁓ I'm just gonna live in a world of regret.
Netta (41:13)
Yeah. All right. Okay.
Yes, because you can never watch You've Got Mail again.
Steph (41:23)
I'm have to just take a beat. It's not Christmas yet, I still have time. I usually, it's one of my early Christmas watches to start to get into the mood of the season. ⁓ Anyways.
Netta (41:26)
Mm.
Yeah, yeah, yeah,
Mmm, very nice. Maybe
you'll appreciate it more this time.
Steph (41:38)
You know what? Maybe. Cause they do everything. I was going to say, I will now talk for one hour's time about you've got mail and you haven't even seen it. Kidding. Kidding.
Netta (41:40)
Yeah.
you
Steph (41:50)
Um, I was going say, you said something earlier about this movie, Sleep is in Seattle, everyone. And it struck me because I do have a note about like the fantasizing.
Like, what did you say earlier now? can't remember. You remember?
Netta (42:02)
Mmm.
that it really, Meg Ryan's character felt to me like she just kind of had this fantasy of this guy and it's insane to me that we would take her fantasy seriously.
Steph (42:11)
Yes.
Yes. And so I have a note that says, is this movie just about the fantasizing and like the dreaming of true love and the fantasizing about it? And I didn't write anything else. That's all I wrote. So I can't remember what I was thinking in moment. But I think to your point, it was this idea that like for her, you know, when you kind of get an idea and then you build that idea up and then it becomes very exciting and very alluring.
Netta (42:42)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Steph (42:45)
And it becomes
Netta (42:45)
Mm.
Steph (42:46)
way bigger than it ever should have been. cause you fan, like you romanticize about it, you fantasize about it. I feel.
Netta (42:52)
and you keep it to yourself,
you don't get any reality checks, you don't get any outlet for it, it just builds up.
Steph (42:56)
Yeah. Yeah, I feel like
that's what we're watching with her. And that's why it feels unhinged in a way or like a little off balance because there's nothing to like, like she listens to his voice once on the radio. Like there's nothing to add to that. And so it is fantasy. Like, like she hears it once on the radio.
Netta (43:15)
Mmm.
Steph (43:18)
She thinks about it, she ruminates about it, she hears about it, it builds for her. She hears a couple nights later, right? They replay it. And so she's like listening again. Like, I think I was really disappointed with the fact that it wasn't a continuous thing that she was listening to and learning about him and like actually falling in love with him. She's falling in love with the fantasy. Right? I think that bugged me.
Netta (43:38)
Yeah,
Yeah, the only thing that makes sense of it is that they are soulmates and she, unlike the other 2000 women who are trying to get with him, is correct. She is in fact his homemade. like, she is the soulmate. That's the only way that this makes sense as a love story is if, you know, all of these women, all these 2000 women or thousands of women who are calling and sending him letters.
Steph (43:49)
like what ⁓ like she is the right choice
Netta (44:05)
they all think he's their soulmate, but it turns out she's right. That's the only way this makes sense. it just, it doesn't feel quite right. I think for many of the reasons that you said, ⁓ and the things that they put in there, like the peeling the apple and blah, blah, blah, it just is not enough to make it, to sell us on that idea. ⁓ But I was gonna say, so our whole exercise of like,
Steph (44:08)
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
It was pretty like hollow.
Netta (44:31)
what if this movie was actually told from his perspective and then sort of entirely about him and what you would have is you've got mail. If this story was told entirely from her perspective, it would be like a psychological thriller, horror, whatever, like fatal attraction or whatever one of these.
Steph (44:35)
Mm-hmm.
Netta (44:52)
She starred in one of these like sexy thriller movies. Yes, and I have not seen it, but it's on my watch list.
Steph (44:58)
Did she?
⁓ intriguing. was going to say there was a movie that Sandra Bullock made that was really, really bad. She made it. was part of a contract agreement to get something else made ⁓ called All About Steve. It was on in the background when I was at a party once, and I think it's about her following him around the country and like stalking him like a lunatic. And like, you're right, told from Meg Ryan's character's perspective, this is not a good look. Yeah.
Netta (45:13)
⁓
It looked bad.
But all about Steve is a romcom.
Yeah. Yeah.
Steph (45:29)
Why
is it so funny when people are being stalked? It's not funny.
Netta (45:32)
I think this was maybe an era. No, I think this was like an era of rom-coms. I feel like we have moved past that to some, right? Yes, yeah.
Steph (45:34)
In the name of love, is it funny?
Yes, I think equality. ⁓ And like, there
was a lot of dated things about this movie as well, which, you know, we tried to view movies as like, it was a product of his time. That's fine. But yeah, like just some things, as in a lot of rom-coms, like don't stand up over time.
Netta (45:51)
Yeah.
Yeah, I think because rom-coms are about such intimate parts of our lives that like the parts that don't age well just feel like very weird.
Steph (46:09)
What do mean?
Netta (46:10)
Like the stalking thing, like the idea that like, you know, this woman stalking this guy and his son is romantic. That feels like actually really bad behavior it just icky.
Steph (46:12)
yeah.
Hahaha
it's interesting when you like, yeah, like we talked about with just a slight bit of editing, this turns into like a psychological thriller is you see her like Google it, not Googling him because it didn't exist, but like typing into his computer to try to find him. And then she requests pictures of him from a private investigator as if she's going to do a story. Red flag. Then she tracks down his phone number using the fact that she's a journalist as a guy's red flag.
Netta (46:30)
Yeah,
Yes.
Steph (46:43)
Then she flies her across the country and stalks him and his son. Yeah, it's you're just you're. Yeah, I know you're sitting there looking so disapproving. You're like, no, it's not OK. It's just a man trying to like live with his son. then not only that, she writes a letter luring the child ⁓ to the Empire State Building.
Netta (46:49)
Yeah, yeah, bad behavior all around.
Yeah, no, it's not okay.
Insanity also also, I mean I did like okay, I did make a comment to Eric like when Tomahanks is like, you know going to the airport and getting on the plane and flying to New York to get his son like He would have just like called the police in New York also said the police get like said there isn't like a you know, 10-hour delay or whatever. He doesn't get there 10 hours later ⁓
Steph (47:32)
Yes, to get him at the...
I know. I was like,
my God, it's home alone too. That's what's happening right now.
Netta (47:40)
Just call, yeah.
my God. ⁓ But again, that's, yes. But again, that's one of those things that I am very willing to just say like, this is rom-com world, that's okay. Yeah.
Steph (47:47)
That was crazy, yes, also.
For a very good movie, you're right. That is a little
bit like we're like for very like if this movie was like exceptional, I feel like a lot of the things around this eight year old, it's like, oh, it's fun and quirky. He's precocious and he's so brave and this and the other. like I wrote him a couple notes like. He leaves his kid alone like all the time he is eight. They're eating dinner at like 10 p.m. and then he's like going to bed at 10. Like that was strange. And then he flies across like then he
Netta (48:17)
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Steph (48:23)
is given enough freedom, I guess, to like fly across the country and like, yeah, there's just a lot there in the realm of parenting. That's like, that's weird. ⁓ But if a very good movie, then it's fun and quirky.
Netta (48:31)
Mm-hmm. Yeah, that was weird.
Yeah, yeah, I think if we had bought into the thing as a whole, it's like everything else willing to write off. But because as a whole, it doesn't work, then each of these pieces just feels like it adds to the silliness of it. Yeah.
Steph (48:50)
Yeah, I also,
Netta (48:51)
Yeah, yeah, not a huge fan of that. Okay, I'm gonna look at some notes. ⁓ okay, super random. But did you notice that in her house, in Meg Ryan's house, in the kitchen, all of the appliances are like from the 60s?
Steph (48:57)
Yes, please.
I did notice that. I was like, what's not about?
Netta (49:11)
Yeah.
I think it's about this thing where actually deep down she's an old fashioned girl, you know?
Steph (49:17)
And
I wondered too, if that's what they were attempting to do. And this is like what I mean around like, I don't think they did any of the things that they were trying to do well, because it just seemed like she stepped into like a 60s kitchen for some reason.
Netta (49:32)
Yeah, I do think like her house though, like I was watching, ⁓ I did watch a thing afterwards about like the production design, like somebody doing a, it was really interesting. It's this guy, I'll link to it, but it's this guy who was like the head of production design for I think a lot of Nancy Meyer's movies. And he kind of like talks about
Steph (49:54)
Mmm, mm-hmm.
Netta (49:57)
that in like a whole range of movies. So he did a video about Sleepless in Seattle. And it was was super cool and really interesting. He didn't talk about that, like he didn't talk about how the kitchen has 60s appliances. ⁓ But I do think that that adds to the sense of like the. Like her home shows.
Steph (50:10)
Mm-hmm.
Netta (50:18)
something about her interiority as a character. So like this kind of old-fashionedness, very feminine. You know, this is where, like on this quirky, yes. You know, this is where like she and Rosie O'Donnell curl up on the couch and watch an affair to remember. Yeah. So I think there's something in that.
Steph (50:24)
Yes, like quirky. was taking from it.
Yeah. Yeah.
Probably.
Netta (50:38)
Hehehehehe
Steph (50:44)
I feel like the things we were talking about it's like other movies that we watch that are like really good or like do these things really well it's like we're like so fired up everyone's like did you see the way that the shadow cast upon this like vase was so meaningful in these ways and here we're like maybe it's supposed to say
Netta (50:48)
Yeah.
Steph (50:59)
No, I know what you mean. I did notice that and I took from it not necessarily the classicness of her, but more of like that she's quirky and wacky and maybe like fun and wants to be quirky and wacky and fun. And like the fact that her fiance has all these allergies really hinders that.
Netta (51:09)
Right.
Mm.
All of his modern appliances to deal with his sleep apnea or whatever. Yeah.
Steph (51:24)
Yes. Right. I know the whole scene
where they're doing the like prep for his like sleep apnea and it was like this very orchestrated moment. Yeah.
Netta (51:32)
yes, yeah.
I
actually, I liked that scene because I feel like it showed how they work as a couple and as a unit. And again, I think in a different movie, that is shown as ⁓ love, as like a strength of the relationship. Whereas here it's shown as like, again, not romantic, of rote, kind of bio, yeah, exactly. Yeah, me too.
Steph (51:40)
Me too!
Yeah.
That's love, I know! Yes! That's- Yes!
monotony.
But I saw it and I liked it. This is what I mean.
It's all these little things that contributed to this idea of like really going against that idea of like soulmates and love. Cause like I saw that and I took it as like love. Like they are like, like she is there for him and supporting him. And when she announces to the family that they're getting engaged and she's like defending his allergies and saying, we'll do this in case of this. And it's all a fun joke. Like these are all loving things to do. And so.
Netta (52:13)
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Steph (52:27)
Yeah, I don't know.
Netta (52:28)
Do you
think if you had seen this when you were younger, like if you had seen this movie when you were like 19, would you have thought it was romantic? Like would you have not recognized all of those things between Meg Ryan and Bill? Like would you have been able to recognize that or see that as romantic and as loving, maybe not romantic, but loving? Or would it have seemed like just lame, like this guy's lame?
Steph (52:32)
Mm.
I don't know.
Probably not because boring. would have,
yeah, it would have seemed like probably boring and lame. I think as a 19 year old, like we've talked about, my view of like romance is very tragic. And so like even, right? So even as a 19 year old, I think him losing his wife and then talking about his wife in such a loving way, I still would be very stuck on that. Like that, and now, like that's the love story of this movie that I care about deeply.
Netta (53:04)
yes.
Mm-hmm.
Yes. Yeah.
Steph (53:20)
Like deeply,
Netta (53:21)
Yeah.
Steph (53:21)
she, when he's, my God, I love that scene. When he go walks, like says good night to his son and walks into the living room on Christmas and he lies on the couch and he kind of starts talking to her like, like his imagination of her, like her ghost of her and falls asleep. my God. That scene, like that I wrote the note down on my phone, like how am I supposed to give a shit now about Meg Ryan? Honestly, that scene was so beautiful.
Netta (53:28)
Yes.
Yeah.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
It was, it was. And I remember thinking I had the same thought of like, the movie I want is, I want a movie about that relationship. Yeah, yeah.
Steph (53:54)
Yes. Yeah. Right. So,
so, so, so beautiful.
Netta (54:00)
Hmm. All right. Well, that's not what we got, even though there is probably another movie that is basically that.
Steph (54:03)
Nope.
Yeah, probably. ⁓ Did you have more notes?
Netta (54:10)
I mean, yeah, but,
Steph (54:13)
Yeah, I know,
I'm tired of this anyway.
Netta (54:17)
⁓ there's one, there's a quote, ⁓ when David Hyde Pierce tells Mike Ryan, what we think is fate is just two neuroses who know their perfect match. That is what it feels like. feel like actually that's, you know, I know he's supposed to be like the kind of, like he has drama with his wife. I don't remember what it is, but like the idea is like, he does not have a good love life.
Steph (54:18)
Anything interesting? We've covered a lot.
yeah.
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Netta (54:44)
and
this is his view of love and this is the view of love that like the movie rejects, but I feel like the movie actually supports that idea.
Steph (54:48)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah. Yes, agreed. I think that scene, he was basically Niles. He was basically Niles. And yes, I think that's very interesting because the way he said it, like it's almost like the movie was like making fun of itself, like playing into that. But to your point about like the love thesis and like, like it didn't realize that and it still continued in that vein.
Netta (54:56)
Yes. Yes.
Mmm. Yeah.
Mm-hmm. Yes, that's the true love thesis of this movie Which I also I'm not on board with I think that's a very you know I mean, I think there's some truth to that in terms of like you know how you fit with each other, but like That's not that's far from the totality of it, so
Steph (55:17)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Netta (55:31)
Yeah, yeah, all right. Well. I guess that's it
Steph (55:38)
Sorry, guys. Excellent. Yep. So what's next then?
Netta (55:39)
Yeah, it's all over now. We're done with this movie now. Bye bye.
Yeah.
I kind of feel like I want a rom-com.
Netta (56:00)
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