'While You Were Sleeping' (1995) Review: Sandra Bullock Shines in This Sweet but Forgettable Rom-Com Classic

While You Were Sleeping (1995)

Directed by John Turteltaub | Written by Daniel G. Sullivan & Fred Lebow | Starring Sandra Bullock, Bill Pullman, Peter Gallagher | Release Date: April 21, 1995 | Review Published: April 28, 2025

“While You Were Sleeping” is one of the most innocent, naïve, and formulaic romantic comedies ever made. It feels like a film that has always existed, reshaped and renamed over decades but fundamentally unchanged—like the romantic comedy equivalent of three-chord harmony: foundational, familiar, and easy to replicate. It’s aesthetically pleasing, functional, and deeply replaceable. Think of it as a good-looking piece of IKEA furniture—nice enough to keep around, but not something you’ll pass down through generations.

Sandra Bullock stars as Lucy, a lonely CTA token taker in Chicago who shares her apartment with her cat and her daydreams. Every day, she swoons silently over Peter (Peter Gallagher), a handsome stranger in a suit who passes through her booth. They’ve never exchanged a word, yet she’s convinced he’s the one. Fun fact: in the original script, Lucy was written as a man, but it was changed after test audiences felt a man obsessing over a woman he’s never met came off as creepy.

The plot gets rolling when Peter is pushed onto the train tracks and Lucy heroically saves him. At the hospital, a comedic misunderstanding leads staff and Peter’s family to believe Lucy is his fiancée. With Peter in a coma and unable to speak for himself, she gets swept up in the family’s gratitude and misplaced affection—particularly from Peter’s eccentric parents (Peter Boyle and Micole Mercurio) and his mostly silent grandmother, Elsie (Glynis Johns).

The film makes it clear Lucy isn’t scheming; she’s just sad and lonely. Her father died not long ago, she has no family, and she’s suddenly embraced by a clan that seems to fill a void in her life. Jack (Bill Pullman), Peter’s brother and the actual romantic interest, enters the story midway as the down-to-earth furniture maker with classic Hallmark movie energy—rugged jeans, tousled hair, and big “small-town values” energy. He’s so generically wholesome that he could have been built in a Hallmark factory.

Interestingly, just two years prior, Pullman played the other archetypal rom-com male—the nice guy who gets dumped—in “Sleepless in Seattle.” He seems genetically engineered to embody every male rom-com archetype: dependable, forgettable, and always available. Pullman does fine work, but many of his roles (this one included) feel like romantic comedy templates more than real characters.

What truly made “While You Were Sleeping” a hit, though, was Sandra Bullock. Her charm, warmth, and natural comedic timing turned this otherwise forgettable film into a box office success and cemented her as a Hollywood star. Her Lucy is clumsy, sincere, and endearingly vulnerable. It’s no surprise she became America’s sweetheart after this.

That said, three decades later, While You Were Sleeping doesn’t hold up as anything more than a quaint nostalgia trip. It hasn’t been widely rediscovered or re-evaluated. If you love it, chances are it’s because you remember it from its theatrical release, not because it’s a hidden gem that rewards repeat viewing.

There’s little here that separates it from dozens of other romantic comedies. The premise is dicey (girl lies to a family about being engaged to their comatose son), but Bullock’s charisma keeps it from feeling gross. Most supporting characters fade into the background, with the exception of Michael Rispoli’s oddly well-developed comic relief. I genuinely feel like I know more about this side character than I should—but that’s another review.

To be clear, While You Were Sleeping isn’t a bad film. It’s just not a great one. If it’s beloved to you, that’s valid—nostalgia is powerful, and everyone’s taste is personal. My reaction is mild indifference. It’s not iconic. It’s not timeless. It’s not a genre-defining rom-com. It’s just… fine. A piece of lovingly polished but mass-produced furniture. Nice to look at. Easy to forget.

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