I was born and raised in Seattle, but had never seen the movie 'Sleepless in Seattle', so the other day I sat down to learn what the hubbub was all about. It also happens to be the first romantic comedy I have watched since being exposed to the Red Pill Theory, so I'm sure it was quite a different movie for me than the director intended. I wanted to share my thoughts on it, Red Pill perspective, and hear yours as well.

SPOILERS BELOW

The movie begins with the 'Love Interest', Sam (Tom Hanks), a widower whose wife died of cancer a year prior. He lives with his son Jonah who, worried about his father's depression, calls a radio show psychologist to have her to talk to him. Sam is coerced into discussing his dead wife and his struggle to stay motivated. Though this seemed Beta on the surface, on reflection I realized he displays Alpha characteristics by putting the shrink in her place before he decides on his own terms to confidently tell her what he is going through. We also learn that he runs his own business and lives in a fancy houseboat, so he shapes up to be that perfect confluence of AFBB.

Sam's on-air confession generates significant interest in female listeners, one of whom is the Heroine, Annie (Meg Ryan). Annie is engaged to Walter (Bill Pullman), a Beta Provider. How do we know he is Beta? Walter has severe food allergies that result in anaphylactic shock, and whenever he expresses concern about the menu (shows weakness), Annie looks like she just swallowed a toad. We also see him struggle socially, both expressing nervousness to meet Annie's family (weakness) and making flat conversation. Nevertheless, Walter is an eligible, successful bachelor and Annie is approaching the Wall, so she's willing to make compromises.

However, when Annie's mother brings up the 'magic' of her own marriage, she is bothered. Here we see Annie's hamster fire up as she tries to shoehorn 'fate' into her own tale of how she met her fiancee, though the reality is that they simply work together and met in the sandwich shop.

After Annie hears Sam on the radio, she goes Full Hamster. She breaks down over her dissatisfaction with Walter, comparing him to the idea of Sam, while Walter himself is left out of the loop. Meanwhile, Annie's shitty friend Becky (Rosie O'Donnell) offers a toxic brew of advice that encourages her infatuation with a stranger across the country. Annie writes a letter to Sam saying they should meet on Valentine's Day on top of the Empire State Building - a nostalgic reference to an old romance film. Annie decides against sending the letter, but Becky sends it anyway.

On her own, Becky's character is a statement on hypergamy, revealing that she got divorced from her first husband after he caught her with a yard worker:

Annie: "You got divorced because of a tree?"
Becky: "The tree man."
Annie: "You fell in love with him?"
Becky: "I did not say love."

Annie eventually crosses the line into stalkerdom. Abusing her journalistic powers, she digs through the AP database - the 1993 equivalent of Googleing the shit out of somebody - and even hires a PI to gather information on Sam. This is how she learns Sam is dating Victoria, a pushy hyena about to slam into the Wall herself (ironically, Jonah calls her a hyena in the course of the movie).

Learning that Sam is dating brings Annie competition anxiety. As a result, she lies to Walter about going to Chicago for work and flies off to Seattle instead. There she physically stalks Sam, showing up at his house then following him, watching from afar while he plays with his son.

Annie almost has the guts to approach him, but is dissuaded by the presence of Sam's sister, whom she mistakes for Victoria. Feeling implicitly rejected by Sam (remember, they haven't even met yet), Annie runs back to Walter just in time for Valentine's Day cash and prizes. Annie is now in Super Saiyan Hamster Mode, repeatedly voicing her newfound realism to Walter, who at the time is actually in the act of offering Annie his mother's wedding ring while purchasing items for her at Tiffany's. They go to dinner, and from the window she sees the Empire State Building: the enormous phallic icon of her romantic fantasies. It is at this point she decides to confess.

This is the scene that made the movie for me. All this time, we assume Walter is a pure Beta, but we actually haven't seen him in action until now. He deals with the situation like a champ:

Walter: "Look, Annie, I love you. But let's leave that out of this. I don't want to be someone that you're settling for. I don't want to be someone that anyone settles for. Marriage is hard enough without bringing such low expectations into it, isn't it?"
Annie: "Walter, I don't deserve you."
Walter: "I wouldn't put it that way, but okay."

Then Walter smiles. Like, a real big shit-eating grin. Where I think the female sees a convenient and painless exit for the heroine, I see a man brimming with the relief of knowing he just dodged a huge bullet. Annie hands him his ring back, he puts it in his pocket, and they are done.

Annie then runs out to the Empire State Building, and of course Sam is there. They touch, it's magic, and they go on to, like, actually learn something about one another. I guess. Fin.

The first thing I thought about this movie was: what if the genders were reversed? This movie is about a person who throws away their engagement over an obsession with a single parent they have never met who talked about their dead spouse on the radio. If the characters were instead named Andrew and Samantha, this would read like "Sleeping With the Enemy." The double standard would be hilarious if it wasn't so appalling.

Anyway, I'm actually excited to watch more movies of this ilk with my new Red-Pill-colored glasses. My interpretation may still be rudimentary - please feel free to correct or comment! - but it's quite enlightening to see where these ideas women get are coming from with the proper perspective.