Friday Night In #5: Travel Back to the 90s/00s with Sandra Bullock

Messy Sandy? Girl-Next-Door Sandy? I'm here for her either way

You know that Taylor Swift song “I Forgot That You Existed”? So that happens to me regularly now that I’m in my forties. Something pops up in an article online or someone mentions a “You remember when this happened or this movie or that actor…” and suddenly something or someone that I forgot existed pops up fresh in my brain again. Then, often, nostalgia kicks in.

So recently when I saw a Sandra Bullock movie scroll across my Netflix suggestions, I got hit with that nostalgia feeling. I didn’t forget that Sandra existed. I did see and enjoy The Lost City in the theatre when it came out a few years ago. (I mean, how could I resist a movie about a romance novelist on book tour with her cover model getting caught up in an action plot? If you haven’t seen it, consider that a bonus Friday Night In suggestion.)

Her career has continued, but I had forgotten Early Sandra and just how big of a deal she was during the 90s and aughts. I mean her filmography during that time is stacked: Speed, A Time to Kill, Practical Magic, The Net, Hope Floats, Two Weeks Notice, Miss Congeniality, and two of the movies I’ll be featuring today.

I think her magic is that she has the ability to play the endearing girl-next-door in a rom-com (or a mean boss in a rom com like The Proposal) but also can hold her own in action movies and dramas. You believe that she could be your laid-back best friend but could also kick a bad guy’s ass if someone kidnapped you. :)

So, for tonight’s Friday Night In, might I suggest an early Sandra movie? I have two that I’ve watched recently to share, but really, you could pick almost any from her list and have a good time.

While You Were Sleeping (1995)

If you’re of a certain age and a lover of romantic comedies, you’ve probably already seen this movie. I definitely had, but it had been years and I’d forgotten how absolutely delightful it is.

This is peak girl-next-door Sandy. She plays Lucy, a lonely single woman who works in a token booth for the Chicago “L” trains. She has developed a crush on Peter (played by Peter Gallagher), one of the men who takes the train every day. She’s never spoken to him, so she just fantasizes about him from afar. But one day, he’s robbed on the train platform and falls onto the tracks. He’s knocked out cold and she has to save him, but in the chaos of the rescue and getting him to the hospital, people think that she’s his fiancee—including his big, boisterous family. And Peter’s in a coma so he can’t refute this claim.

The movie follows Lucy as she falls for Peter’s warm and welcoming family and gets trapped even deeper in the lie. And Peter’s brother, Jack (Bill Pullman in his 90s floppy-haired glory) is not buying Lucy’s story and is set on refuting it.

I enjoyed this rewatch so much. The leads have great chemistry. The side characters are lovable and funny. And the humor is great without being slapstick or over the top. Also, I’d forgotten this is set at Christmas/New Year’s so it’s a nice winter watch on top of everything else.

So, if you’re looking to escape into a cozy romance, maybe put this one on tonight. It’s streaming on Disney+ as of right now.

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28 Days (2000)

This is one I hadn’t seen before. At first, I thought 28 Days would be a straight-up comedy, but if this were a book, it’d probably be shelved in the women’s fiction section. There’s humor here, but it’s premise and setting are more serious.

Gwen is a mess. She thinks she’s doing okay and yeah, maybe she likes to drink, but she’s just having a good time, right? She’s able to fool herself with that lie (along with her enabling boyfriend’s help) until she ruins her sister Lily’s (Elizabeth Perkins) wedding and gets into legal trouble. Now she’s facing jail time unless she goes to a 28-day rehab program

Whereas Lucy in While You Were Sleeping was sweet and endearing, Gwen is prickly, defensive, and mean. When she enters the program, she thinks she’s above it all and the other residents are pathetic. Her hubris is short-lived though because they’re not going to let her get away with her bad behavior. She’s either going to have to work the program and deal with the childhood wounds that led her to being an alcoholic or she’s going to go to jail.

This movie tackles some serious topics and has some serious moments (please check trigger warnings if you're concerned), but I liked seeing Gwen’s growth as a character. The side characters are sometimes a little over-exaggerated, but I also was rooting for them. They’re meant to offer some comic relief in what would otherwise be a somber movie.

I saw some reviewer opinions when I was gathering info for this post that felt the movie was poking some fun at rehab programs or people in them, but I didn’t feel that way. I used to be a social worker and provided therapy in a teen day program for a while. The teens that were there were dealing with some serious issues (so serious that they couldn’t be in regular or alternative school) but there was still humor and silliness. There was eye-rolling at some of the group therapy activities because they can seem goofy or woo-woo even when serving a therapeutic purpose. So I guess I was okay that the movie leaned into that a little.

Overall, I enjoyed this watch, and if you want a movie that fits the theme of Dry January, this one could fit. It’s currently streaming on Netflix.

Hey, you could even serve mocktails with your movie night. I have this cookbook and it has some fun and tasty drinks in it.

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That’s all I have for you today. I hope you have a great weekend!

Have you watched anything lately that stirred up nostalgic vibes for you?

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