While You Were Sleeping

Imagine falling desperately in love with a man you have never really spoken to. Imagine then that before you can shout "Look out there's a really big train coming!" the man in question is comatose and you are being mistaken for his fiance. His family warm and welcoming and far more converstaional than your cat... what would you do?

That's basically what happens when Lucy Moderatz (Sandra Bullock) who finds herself confronting this dilemma one cold Christmas in Chicago. But is Peter (Peter Gallagher) really the Mr Right that Lucy is seeking and where exactly does his brother Jack (Bill Pullman finally getting the opportunity to play a sympathetic lead!) fit in?

While You Were Sleeping gives Sandra Bullock ample time to prove that she can charm the pants off an audience through romantic comedy and not just in the action genre, her comic timing is exquisite, but it is her ability to express pure toe-curling embarrassment that will forever endear her to the hearts of her audience. Pullman is also terrific playing the suspicious brother who eventually succumbs to Lucy's irrepressible allure.

Chicago at Christmas provides an attractive setting and a suitably sentimental time of year. While You Were Sleeping may be completely predictable but it is by turn both hilarious and touching, managing to remain just the right side of mushiness. This movie will delight anyone with a romantic bone in their body.

Caroline Smith