While You Were Sleeping

"A story about love at second sight."

1995 1h 43m EN

👍

7.0

SOLID

🍅

81%

FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

6.8

IMDB

★7.0TMDB · 2,073🍅81%Rotten Tomatoes●67Metacritic★6.8IMDB · 121,250

RomanceComedy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A transit worker pulls commuter Peter off railway tracks after he's mugged, but—while he's in a coma—his family mistakenly thinks she's Peter's fiancée, and she doesn't correct them. Things get more complicated when she falls for his brother, who's not quite sure that she's who she claims to be.

“A story about love at second sight.”

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Cast

Sandra Bullock
Lucy Eleanor Moderatz
Bill Pullman
Jack Callaghan
Peter Gallagher
Peter Callaghan
Peter Boyle
Ox Callaghan
Jack Warden
Saul Tuttle
Glynis Johns
Elsie
Micole Mercurio
Midge Callaghan
Jason Bernard
Jerry Wallace

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Jon Turteltaub
Writers: Daniel G. Sullivan, Fredric LeBow
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Grossed $182M — a 10.7× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

31 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Jon Turteltaub, shot by Phedon Papamichael. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Randy Edelman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Bruce Green shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Sandra Bullock and Bill Pullman and Peter Gallagher carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "A story about love at second sight.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0114924 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Jon Turteltaub directs. Phedon Papamichael behind the camera. Randy Edelman scores. Bruce Green cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Grossed $182M — a 10.7× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.
231 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Directed by Jon Turteltaub, shot by Phedon Papamichael. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Randy Edelman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Bruce Green shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Sandra Bullock and Bill Pullman and Peter Gallagher carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "A story about love at second sight.".
8IMDB entry: tt0114924 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 14 themes, including "chicago, illinois", "coma", "sibling relationship", "love of one's life".

The technical file

Cinematography: Phedon Papamichael
Original score: Randy Edelman
Editing: Bruce Green
Production design: Garreth Stover
Costume design: Betsy Cox
Makeup / hair: Pamela S. Westmore
Sound: Paul Massey
Stunt coordinator: Rick LeFevour
Runtime: 103 min · 1h 43m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $17,000,000
Box office: $182,100,000
Return: 1071% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: While You Were Sleeping (1995)
Rotten Tomatoes: 81% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 67/100
IMDB rating: 6.8/10 · 121,250 votes
MPAA: PG

Awards

4 wins & 5 nominations total

Also by

Jon Turteltaub

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

Kamurai2020-09-21
★ 7/10
Really good watch, would watch again, and can recommend. This feels like a classic watch, like a movie that started a trope...but I can't think of a single other movie that did what this movie does. Sure there are movies about comas, amnesia, lying, but they don't do it in the same way, and I honestly believe it's because this movie did it so well that no one wants to risk copying it and do worse. This is also a great example of good situational comedy without bleeding over into abuse humor: at no point is she "suffering", she's not attacked, or wronged, but she's in a difficult situation that doesn't lend towards pleasantness in a ridiculous fashion, mostly because the family is insane, in the best of ways. Every single actor in this really brings it too. There are plenty of notable names, but as much as Sandra Bullock elevates the quiet, reserved character of Lucy, there are so many other good actors and characters throughout the movie, it feels extremely balanced, despite all the different story angles happening. The other thing happening is that this is sort of a reverse mystery. Instead of information that other characters know being hidden from the audience to be revealed later, the audience is almost the only one to know the truth until aspects are slowly revealed to the rest of the cast. If you haven't see this yet, put it on your list, I promise it still holds up: even if there are no smart phones yet, you'll barely notice.
r96sk2022-05-06
★ 7/10
Insanely cheesy and overtly sentimental... yet, I kinda like 'While You Were Sleeping'. Sandra Bullock is probably the main reason for the latter, as she gives a near perfect performance for this sorta role. The rest of the cast are good too, from Bill Pullman to Peter Gallagher to Jason Bernard. The story is paced finely, it's really just the strong cheese that brings the rating down for me. Still: 7/10. It's the sixth Jon Turteltaub film that I've seen: I'd class each one as good. Reliable director!
The Movie Mob2023-01-02
★ 7/10
While You Were Sleeping is about more than just romance. It’s about finding family and, in this case, an adorable but crazy and entertaining family. While You Were Sleeping is a heartwarming romantic comedy with the lead falling in love with a quirky but sincere family as much as their charming son. The script isn’t perfect, with a couple of cliche and stereotypical rom-com moments, but the cast of goofy but not completely outrageous characters keep you engaged and want to see more of their antics. Sandra Bullock and Bill Pullman are a fun couple to watch and laugh with, and the whole premise of the film presents plenty of fun moments of awkwardness to laugh at. While You Were Sleeping is a funny, heartfelt, and wholesome rom-com from the 90s that my parents watched 100 times while I was growing up, which was way too much, but I have to admit… it’s a good one.