

`Sleepless' Needs A Dose Of Reality

July 02, 1993|By Debbie Urbanski, Sandburg.

`Sleepless in Seattle" takes place in another world, another dimension that resembles a "Twilight Zone" of sorts. An 8-year-old kid buys tickets, flies to New York and takes an elevator to the top floor of the Empire State Building, occurrences that happen only to Macaulay Culkin. No one talks enough because a soundtrack of more than 20 songs does the talking instead. The characters smile or tilt their heads or stare at water as oldies but goodies are used in an attempt to capture the moment.

And if that's not eerie enough, there's also a convenient plot where happiness and life wrap up nicely in less than two hours. Sam (Tom Hanks) is haunted by a dead wife so he moves to Seattle. Annie (Meg Ryan) is uncertain about her living fiance. Sam appears on talk radio and soon receives hundreds of letters from desperate women located around the country, including Annie. Lots of coincidences and destiny eventually lead the two to each other.

"You don't want to be in love. You want to be in love in a movie," a friend finally tells Annie. Yes, that is Annie's problem and it's quite obvious by the end of the film that she isn't in love in the real world. Meeting a complete stranger on the top of the Empire State Building on Valentine's Day a few moments before the observation deck closes might be believable. But meeting a person under the same conditions who not only is an appropriate height but also your destiny happens only in Hollywood. Reality is indeed a drag, but a necessary one. (STAR)(STAR)