You've Got Mail
Rating (out of five): ***1/2
Starring Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan, Parker Posey, Greg Kinnear, Jean Stapleton, Steve Zahn, Dabney Coleman, John Randolph and Debra Eisenstadt Directed by Nora Ephron Rated PG for mild profanity Theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1 Released in 1998 Running 119 minutes
You've Got Mail works alot better than it deserves to. In order to make the film a success, all they had to do was cast two extremely popular and attractive stars, have them share the screen for about two hours and then collect the profits. No real acting was involved and there is not an original or inventive bone in it's body (it's basically a complete re-shoot of The Shop Around the Corner, only adding a few modern twists). Essentially, it goes against and defies all concepts of good contemporary filmmaking. It's overly sentimental and at times terribly mushy, not to mention very manipulative. But oh, how enjoyable that manipulation is.
But there must be something other than the casting and manipulation that makes the movie work as well as it does, because I absolutely hated the previous Ryan/Hanks teaming, Sleepless in Seattle. It couldn't have been the directing, because both films were helmed by the same woman. I haven't quite yet figured out what I liked so much about You've Got Mail, but then again, is that really important? If you like something so much, why even question it?
Again, the storyline is as cliched as they come. Tom Hanks plays Joe Fox, the insanely likeable owner of a discount book chain and Meg Ryan plays Kathleen Kelley, the even more insanely likeable proprietor of a family-run children's book shop called, in a nice homage, The Shop Around the Corner. Fox and Kelley soon become bitter rivals because the new Fox Books store is opening up right across the block from the small business. Little do they know, they are already in love with each other over the internet, only neither party knows the other person's true identity.
The rest of the story isn't important because all it does is serve as a mere backdrop for the two stars to share the screen. Sure, there are some mildly interesting subplots, but they all fail in comparison to the utter cuteness of the main relationship.
All of this, of course, leads up to the predictable climax. But as foreseeable as the ending is, it's so damn cute and well-done that I doubt any movie in the entire year contains a scene the evokes as much pure joy as this part does. When Ryan discovers the true identity of her online love, I was filled with such, for lack of a better word, happiness that for the first time all year, I actually left the theater smiling.
*Homepage at http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Boulevard/7475
**Complimentary movie ticket courtesy of Valley Cinemas at http://www.movie-tickets.com
Copyright 1998 Jason Wallis
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