"Sleepless In Seattle":

"Sleepless in Seattle" is a movie for anyone who still believes in the ideal romance, as opposed to the potentially messier realities of love.

Through the starry-eyed sentiments of director and co-writer Nora Ephron, "Sleepless" is both dopey and delightful, clever enough to function as a modern barometer of love in America, and wise enough to trust that love's magic isn't restricted to the silver screen.

As Ephron demonstrates, however, our romantic ideals are largely a creation of movies, and "Sleepless in Seattle" is both a tribute to and an update of "An Affair to Remember," the 1957 weeper starring Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr as star-crossed lovers whose date with destiny atop the Empire State Building is postponed by a freak twist of fate. (Directed by Leo McCarey, it was a remake of McCarey's 1939 soaper "Love Affair," which is again being reworked as a vehicle for Warren Beatty and Annette Benning.)

Charmed - or bored
In "Sleepless," the skyscraper destinies are sealed, so you'll either be charmed or bored by the foregone conclusion. But with an almost telepathic romance between strangers on opposite coasts, Ephron is assured (along with her previous script for "When Harry Met Sally...") her own little shrine in the annals of movie love.

Sam (Tom Hanks) is a successful Chicago architect and devoted father of 9-year old Jonah (Ross Malinger). Since his wife's death 18 months earlier, he's been consumed by loneliness and memories of a fairy-tale marriage. Seeking a new lease on life, he moves to Seattle. (His immediate purchase of a gorgeous Lake Union houseboat is an allowable fantasy.)

On Christmas Eve, Jonah calls a radio talk-show psychologist to discuss his dad's trenchant melancholy, knowing that a nation of desperate women are listening when Sam joins in. To them, "Sleepless" Sam sounds like a dream come true, and for Jonah, every letter from a listener represents a potential return to family happiness.

Across the continent, Baltimore Sun reporter Annie Reed (Meg Ryan) hears the talk show and is irrevocably moved. Her stiff, allergy-prone fiance (Bill Pullman) is decent but dull, so he can't compete with Annie's heartfelt destiny.

Ephron knows that you can guess the rest and uses it to her advantage. "Sleepless" is shameless, forcing laughs and emotions with nervous extremity, but Ephron both acknowledges and overcomes the silliness of the premise. Through the irresistible performances of Hanks and Ryan, the goofy story is grounded enough to let Cupid's arrow hit a convincing bull's-eye.

Hanks' magic touch
Hanks in particular makes the movie work, tapping into a tender gentleness - focused on Malinger's precociously witty performance - to make Sam a deserving candidate for cross-country magic. Ryan's role is thinner but equally charming, and both are ably assisted by Rob Reiner and Rosie O'Donnell, who deliver some of Ephron's choicest dialogue in their respective roles as Sam and Annie's best friends.

Only Seattleites will laugh when Hanks motorboats from Lake Union to Alki Point within a few brief cuts. But that amusing editing - and Sven Nykvist's glossy lighting of the Empire State Building's observation deck (re-created in a Sand Point naval base hangar) - are proof that there's more than one kind of magic going on here, and Ephron's selections of classic love songs provide the kiss to build a dream on.