Rom-com fans, an important occasion is upon us. On April 21, 1995, one of the best romantic comedies of the ‘90s (and of all time, in my opinion) was released. While You Were Sleeping is an indisputable classic of the genre. The film’s anniversary deserves to be celebrated, and I’d like to do that by diving deep into its best moments. This movie provides plenty of laughs, swoons, and just all-around feels. So many, in fact, that it would be easy to say the whole thing is my favorite moment. But I won’t!
I want to gush about all the details here. This film deserves that, and now is the perfect time. I’d like to discuss the moments in the order they happen chronologically in the film because it’s impossible to rank them. Let’s go!
MORE: For more on While You Were Sleeping, check out our WayBack Wednesday Review!
Lucy Saves Peter
I’ll start with the moment that sets the plot in motion. Lucy Moderatz (Sandra Bullock) sees Peter Callaghan (Peter Gallagher), the man she’s been crushing on, get pushed onto the train tracks at the station where she is stuck working on Christmas. She immediately jumps in to save him. This tells us the type of person Lucy is right from the start. She is relatable, brave, and kind. Besides that, an effective moment of action and suspense can add layers to the storytelling, and that’s what this scene does.
There’s humor (“There’s a train coming, and it’s fast. It’s an express!”) followed by tension as Lucy rolls the unconscious Peter out of the train’s path at the last moment. Without this event, there is no narrative. Peter doesn’t fall into a coma (what a useful plot device!), and Lucy doesn’t meet his family. Screenwriters call this an inciting incident. As inciting incidents go, this movie has an unforgettable one.
Church With the Callaghans
Peter’s family attends church while Peter is in a coma, and it’s a comic highlight. It also advances a couple of important narrative threads. Peter’s brother, Jack (Bill Pullman), is questioning the truth about Lucy and Peter’s relationship. Of course, this is because he is attracted to Lucy himself. Jack also wants to talk to his father, Ox (Peter Boyle), about leaving the family business. But these serious subplots are balanced with some quotable laughs.
When Midge (Micole Mercurio) tells her husband and son to talk about business later, young daughter Mary (Monica Keena) quips, “Talk about it now, he can’t kill you in church!” Grandmother Elsie (Glynis Johns) is even funnier, though. My favorite comment from her is, “How did Joe Kelly get to be a lector? He takes marijuana.” Apparently, there is some tea to be spilled in this neighborhood! Scenes like this illustrate why Lucy is so drawn to this down-to-earth, warm family.
Peter’s “Problem”
This is one of the biggest laughs in the film. Jack’s doubts about Peter and Lucy’s engagement reach a breaking point here, while Peter is still in a coma. He quizzes her about Peter’s likes and dislikes. But then comes the kicker. Thanks to an encounter with one of Peter’s work friends, Lucy knows a recent accident deprived him of one testicle, so she reluctantly reveals that information to “prove” she and Peter are a couple.
The next few moments are a mini-masterpiece of reaction shots as the family finds out if Lucy is telling the truth. Then, there is a final, perfect punctuation to the scene. Again, it comes courtesy of Grandma Elsie, and it’s a hilarious one-liner as the family enters the elevator to leave: “At least he’s got more room in his jockey shorts!” The tone of the writing and acting succeed in giving this moment the right balance of uncomfortable but funny.
Joe Jr. and the Shoes
Joe Jr. (Michael Rispoli) is another supporting character who’s responsible for a lot of humor in this film. He tries to date Lucy, but that’s not happening. The moment that offers the peak of his comedy comes when he confronts Lucy about a non-existent date. As Lucy insists she never agreed to go out with him, they are interrupted more than once, so she hides him in her closet. She later finds him trying on her shoes. There are a lot of fast, witty lines in this scene, like when Lucy complains no one uses the phone anymore, and Joe Jr. says he does. “I’m not talking about 900 numbers!” she shoots back.
The sight of Rispoli with a high-heeled shoe in his hand visually codes this character as harmless and silly. The writers pay off this joke later in the film. Joe breaks up with another woman in their building, and Lucy comforts him with, “You know what? We can try on some of my shoes.”
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Moving Furniture
The scenes I’ve detailed so far showcase more of the comedy of this movie. But it is a romance, too, and the sequence where Jack and Lucy move a loveseat into Peter’s apartment is a fantastic example of this. First, Lucy raves about a rocking chair Jack made. This is a good way for them to bond. They share information about themselves, and we root for them. Then, watching Lucy and Jack struggle with the furniture is funny. Especially when it gets wedged in a doorway. The emotional substance is here, too, though.
They laugh together, which is a green flag when you want two characters to get together. Lucy accidentally stains Peter’s carpet, and Jack is right there saying, “I think the loveseat should go right there.” Lucy and Jack also have more meaningful conversations as they walk back to Lucy’s apartment. Another green flag. The building blocks of Jack and Lucy’s love story are put in place to a large degree by these scenes.
Falling on the Ice
Directly after moving the furniture, there is a moment that develops another aspect of Jack and Lucy’s connection. The sidewalks are icy in front of Lucy’s apartment building. Jack tries to assist her to the door, but the two slip and slide, then eventually fall, thankfully without hurting themselves. (Though Jack does rip his pants!) The sexual tension between them as they struggle to stand upright is obvious. They hold onto each other, looking into each other’s eyes, and it’s clear how they feel. Bullock and Pullman’s chemistry is strong. This moment proves it.
Romantic comedies need that kind of chemistry to progress from good to great, and this one does. Plus, just like almost every other scene in this film, there are funny lines, too! The final shot of this sequence is significant as well. Bullock’s face as Lucy watches Jack walk away demonstrates her realization of her feelings perfectly.
Baby Mix-Up
When a film can execute an overdone comedic trope and still make you laugh at it, that is worth remembering. It makes the film stand out in a way others in the same genre may not. This moment is While You Were Sleeping’s example of that. The Callaghans mistakenly think Lucy is carrying Peter’s child, so Jack follows Lucy to a New Year’s Eve party to talk to her about it. Lucy is about to drink punch. Jack warns her that it’s spiked, and when she says, “Thank God” and keeps drinking, he shouts, “It’s not good for the baby!” just as the music cuts out.
This kind of cringey moment has been done many times. However, this one works because it has a purpose beyond second-hand embarrassment. It prompts an important conversation between Lucy and Jack. It also delivers another example of great reaction shots from Lucy’s co-workers. Miscommunication often appears in rom-coms, but this is a successful use of it.
Leaning
Another exquisite moment of sexual tension between Lucy and Jack comes shortly after the baby mix-up. It’s one of the most well-known moments from the film, one that fans will be able to identify easily: the leaning scene! Jack explains he was suspicious about Joe Jr. because she “leaned” toward him. It is delicious when Jack explains what he means by that, because he demonstrates as he does so, and it is the hottest moment in the film. Again, Bullock and Pullman’s chemistry really shines through in this moment.
Seriously, these two should have done more rom-coms together. The perfect comedic compliment to this heat comes when Joe Jr. interrupts, asking if Jack is bothering Lucy because “it looks like he’s…leaning.” This film made leaning a thing, and rom-coms have never been the same since.
The Non-Wedding
This is the moment we’ve known was coming since the beginning. Lucy can’t marry Peter, not only because she loves Jack, but also because she was never engaged to Peter. She finally tells everyone the truth, like she has wanted to for a while. The emotional beats are what make this scene work so well. Bullock pulls off the confession excellently. Pullman’s expression when Lucy says she loves Jack is classic rom-com hero heart-eyes.
Despite the laughs also found in this scene, it’s really about Lucy freeing herself with the truth. She found real feelings for someone instead of just a crush. And she was part of a family again. She even tells Peter, “I might have saved your life on the tracks that day, but you really saved mine.” She means through meeting the Callaghans. I don’t think the found family trope has ever been done so well in a rom-com.
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Jack’s Proposal
Of course, I have to include the happy ending on this list. It’s what this genre is all about! This one is wonderful. Jack tosses a ring into Lucy’s booth instead of a token, which starts the scene off in a cute way, and then the humor comes when Lucy looks up to see that most of the Callaghans are with him. They bring their own brand of comedy wherever they go. This moment is no different.
But the most important thing is Jack and Lucy’s declarations of love, which are simple but all the more impactful for it. “I love you” and “I love you back” are all they need to say. And it feels appropriate that Jack’s family is there, smiling, sharing in their happiness. After all, Lucy wanted a family just as much as she wanted a love story. That’s what I call a truly layered happy ending.
So, did we cover all of your favorite moments from While You Were Sleeping? Are there other scenes from this movie we should have included? Let us know in the comments!
While You Were Sleeping is streaming on Disney+.
