While You Were Sleeping

Lucy Moderatz is a lonely Chicago transit worker who pulls a commuter named Peter off the tracks after a mugging leaves him in a coma. When his family mistakenly believes Lucy is Peter's fiancée, she doesn't correct them and enjoys the sudden sense of belonging. As she spends time with Peter's protective brother Jack and the rest of the family, affection and romantic tension grow, complicating the falsehood she's allowed to continue. Lucy must weigh the comfort of acceptance against honesty, while the film keeps a light, comedic tone alongside quieter emotional moments. It is a romantic comedy focused on honesty, family bonds and chance romance.

Released in 1995 and directed by Jon Turteltaub, the film was written by Fredric LeBow and Daniel G. Sullivan, and stars Sandra Bullock, Bill Pullman, Peter Gallagher, Peter Boyle and Jack Warden in a warm ensemble performance that pleased audiences.

Audiences made it a box office success, turning it into a reliable crowd-pleaser during its initial run and helping elevate Sandra Bullock into mainstream stardom, while studios took notice of her emerging box office appeal across domestic and international markets.

While You Were Sleeping helped define the 1990s romantic comedy, with Lucy's mistaken-engagement setup becoming shorthand for sweet, morally complicated meet-cute scenarios. The movie boosted Bullock's career and keeps showing on holiday cable, and its family-centered warmth is often cited in retrospectives of the genre by critics and viewers alike.

Critics generally liked the film, praising its humor and the chemistry between Bullock and Pullman, reflected in a solid audience score around 7.03 out of 10. Themes include belonging, the ethics of small deceptions, and how unexpected connections can reshape lonely lives into family. It mixes laughs with heartfelt moments.