I had to laugh the day I watched this movie. I realized my bed is covered in purple roses. At least, that is the pattern. Who knows, maybe I’ll run off to Hollywood soon. I think for my whole life I’ve always had a fictional character living in my mind, that perfect man who is poetic, has a sexy voice and is wildly witty.

Cecilia (Mia Farrow) seems to be dreaming of the same man because had I been in this movie we could have fought over explorer Tom Baxter (Jeff Daniels). He is adorable, dreamy and romantic. His innocence, optimism and sense of wonderment is completely cute. He is present, intelligent, passionate, takes life with a dose of humor and is willing to fight for what he wants. He also loves talking to Cecilia and she can barely stop herself from fainting in his presence. She is overwhelmed when she realizes her fantasy exists.

Ok, so he is fictional and as Cecilia would say: “He’s fictional, but you can’t have everything.”

Cecilia is trapped washing dishes in a diner, while she would rather be dreaming. She is beautiful, open to possibilities, willing to trust a man who shows her loving direction and has a healthy radiance. When she is not working or dealing with her verbally abusive husband (Danny Aiello), she spends all her free time escaping vicariously into the characters lives at the Jewel Movie Theater.

Her life is filled with hardship, while the characters onscreen live in luxury. Her husband is verbally abusive and even hits her when she gets out of line. She dreams of being with a romantic character and the thought that she will actually talk to a real-life movie star seems to be her wildest fantasy.

Cecilia is a good example of a woman with low self-esteem who is very intimidated by her husband. One day while watching “The Purple Rose of Cairo,” one of the characters notices she has been watching his movie over and over again. He is so impressed, he decides to step right out of the movie and meet her. It is the stuff of fantasy!

Not only does he want to marry her almost the minute he sees her, he defends her and romances her beyond anything she could ever imagine. She is literally transfixed by his idealistic, poetic nature. That is until the real-life actor Gil Shepherd appears.

There has never been a movie that so captivated me and amused me to the core. I loved the original ideas, fantasy characters, the movie characters talking to the audience and the comedic timing is beyond perfect. Some scenes are so completely eccentric, the hilarity factor bubbles over like champagne. I was still laughing at the same jokes while watching this movie the seventh time in two days!

One is left wondering: “Are there any other guys like Tom out there?” I think there might be one left, somewhere on the earth. This movie is hilarious, short, sweet, innocent and maybe even a little sad. We are never sure if Cecilia continues to think of her inner world as a fantasy mansion or if she starts to see the sunsets in her real world and finds the real man of her dreams.

A movie to make you think about how you are living your life and what you would change in your life if you could “really” escape into the fantasy of your dreams. You are left thinking that perhaps you could dream a fantasy into life.