MovieChat Forums > Sleepless in Seattle (1993) Discussion > Is Anne a stalker?

Is Anne a stalker?

posted 14 years ago by sigepjw
7 replies | jump to latest

Hi guys! I invite you all to weigh in on whether or not Annie's a stalker, whether she cheated on Walter, and how far you would go for the love of a stranger (among other things).

Behold my 'So I Married a Movie Geek' podcast! ...AKA, a once-a-week podcast wherein me (Krissy) and my husband (Justin) discuss well-known movies that (miraculously) I've never seen.

And, let me just tell you, Sleepless in Seattle is now on my top 50 list of favorite all-time flicks. YAY!!

http://dudemanphat.com/2010/08/17/so-i-married-a-movie-geek-%E2%80%93-episode-16-ghost-sleepless-in-seattle/

Let us know what you think. :)

-Krissy

PS
This particular episode was a joint podcast about Sleepless In Seattle and Ghost -- if you only wanna hear about Sleepless, fast forward to about half way through. Thanx!

[–] archer1267 14 years ago

If Annie was played by Rosie O'Donnell, I think most people would say "stalker!" But the fact that it's, well, Meg Ryan - a cute, thin woman with long blonde hair - well, I think most guys wouldn't mind a woman like that following them.

OTOH, Sam went on a radio show, became a minor celebrity as a result to thousands of sympathetic women. In that context, you have to expect that some women are going to go a little further and actually try to find you. But yeah - the lengths she went to to get there, including hiring a p.rivate eye to take photos during Sam's date with the decorator (!) -- definitely stalking territory.

This movie was made well before the Internet made "emotional affairs" more common, but I think it's hard to say whether Annie really cheated, or whether she just had cold feet and let her imagination run away with itself. If she and Sam were involved in an intense email correspondence without meeting, then yeah...that would fit the legal definition. But Sam had no idea he was being followed by this woman, that she had a fiance, and there really was no interaction between them until the end, when Annie had already dumped Walter.

It's been a while since I saw this part, but didn't she NOT intend to mail the letter to Sam? She crumpled it up after typing it and Rosie O'Donnell retrieved it and mailed it? She knew what she was doing was crazy and tried to stop it before going further.

[–] zmystico 14 years ago

She's the epitome of a stalker.

1. She fell in love with a man she heard talk on a call-in show.
2. She googled the hell out of him.
3. She hired a private investigator to find and take photos of him.
4. She flew across the country to follow this man and his son all day.
5. She was so consumed with stalking him she almost got hit by a car.
6. She strung along the man that loved her and who she agreed to marry.

What more proof do you need?

Wayne Enterprises buys and sells companies like Stark Industries

[–] brentnevers 13 years ago

Well said....even in a post Susan Boyle world...we still make judgments based on looks. If SuBo behaved this same way...we would want her arrested...!!

What if Rob Reiner would have flown to Baltimore to spy on Meg Ryan...is that okay???

I loved this movie years ago...bit I have come to loathe the double standard!

[–] filmfan-54 13 years ago

The double standard is not in the movie, it is in our collective minds.
The movie is just about a girl who hears someone talks about love and hears the warmth and sincerity in his voice and it just clicks.
That compared to the coldness her soon to be husband shows makes her doubt her future steps.

Stalking is a great word for accusing someone who hasn't even let her 'subject' know who she is and what she wants.

[–] planetmutty 13 years ago

True, double standards are everywhere. It seems to be far worse for a man to stalk a woman than the other way around. Most of us probably don't have a problem with what Annie did, including me, as I would probably be rather flattered if an attractive woman like her took the same interest in me.

IMO the crucial thing is that Sam was not aware of her actions. She was hardly harrassing him since he didn't even know about it so I think it's fair to say she didn't cross the line. If she had confronted him a number of times and he told her to leave him alone, yet kept coming back to him, then that would qualify a stalking.

When I said I wanted to be a comedian, they all laughed at me. Well, they're not laughing now!

[–] HomerParrish 13 years ago

In my mind, stalking only comes when two conditions are met.

1. The other person knows you are "checking them out." And most importantly...
2. It is unwelcome.

Well, maybe it's not that simple, but I don't think Annie fits the criteria of stalker.

[–] tenderlovingtony 13 years ago

Anne is definitely a stalker. She trespassed onto his private property. I got an uncomfortable feeling watching Anne go to Sam's house and walk around the perimeter. I even yelled out "Stalker!" (OK, I was in my own living room with only one other person.) The Privacy Rights Clearinghouse uses this definition: "Physical stalking is following someone, appearing at a person’s home or place of business, making harassing phone calls, leaving written messages or objects, or vandalizing one’s property. Cyberstalking involves ... Either type of action may or may not be accompanied by a credible threat of serious harm." (privacyrights.org, Fact Sheet 14).