4. Sleepless In Seattle
The year was 1993. Tom Hanks was yet to find love in the shape of a volleyball unable to defend itself from his advances, and women everywhere were worn out from having what Meg Ryan was having for the previous 4 years it was time for them to have something new. It's perhaps a tad unfortunate that what she was having this time was a mental breakdown. The story itself is really quite simple - recently widowed Sam Baldwin (Hanks) and his eight year old son Jonah are essentially pirates living at sea in Seattle. Fed up of his father's moping around after the death of his wife, Jonah - in a remarkable show of callousness - decides to use a national radio show as the catalyst for an X-Factor style audition for a new mother. He proceeds to broadcast his dad's emotional and psychological problems to the entire country, and explains that he knows his dad struggles to sleep. Dubbed "Sleepless In Seattle" by the syrupy-voiced radio psychiatrist, Sam takes over the call and answers a few questions, before declaring how much he misses his wife. This is where, in real life, the story would end. Cue a barrage of stamped, addressed envelopes arriving at his door. In fact, the only other time in cinematic history so many letters have been combined with so much cooing was Harry Potter's Hogwarts invitation scene. Predictably, one letter interests both Sam and Jonah. Fortunately, it's the letter from the most attractive woman in the movie and she has already decided that she loves him. The only inconvenience for her is that she has a fiancée, a man whose only crime is that he snores at a moderate volume, but she soon gets rid of him. Jonah continues taking advantage of his dad's affable nature, and engineers a situation in which he and Sam can meet this stranger. They end up meeting on top of the Empire State Building, thus recreating Annie's (Ryan) favourite movie, and proving conclusively that one's moral compass should be solely based on romantic movies from the 1950's. Hanks turns in a brilliant performance as "Tom Hanks In Casual Clothing", and Ryan is just blonde enough to be convincing.
So why should guys secretly love this movie?
Being told to "act your age" is something most people have dealt with at some point during adolescence (or into your mid 20's in my case) - the most appealing thing about the movie is that it depicts a utopian paradise in which a 40 year old man need not be any more emotionally intelligent than an 8 year old boy. Just stop and think about that for a moment. Sounds like absolute bliss, doesn't it? Again, there's a perceived idea that the story is about finding love through adversity, not settling for what you have and actively seeking what you desire - putting everything on the line for that one special person. That is all wrong. The true meaning behind the movie is that you should 1) Have a good sob story (see X-Factor auditions for inspiration). 2) Have access to a telephone, and the phone number of a popular radio station. 3) Insomnia. 4). The ability to impersonate a child's voice. and lastly 5) A selection of ill fitting casual clothes in varying shades of green. That is it. Nothing more. You need not leave the comfort of your sofa. As long as you are armed with the above items/skills then love will find you. Living on a houseboat would also be kinda fun.