_You've Got Mail_
_You've Got Mail_ is the latest of the Nora Ephron/Tom Hanks/Meg Ryan movies in which, like _Sleepless in Seattle_, the two lovers, are destined for each other, but are oblivious of this fact until the very end. It takes place in New York, where the two both work in the book retail biz.
Side note: I love those huge bookstore chains with comfy chairs and capucchino. It's a great place to relax, quick-skim potential purchases, and try one of those forbidden pastries. I frequent them at least once a week.
Therefore, I'm not the most objective reviewer when it comes to this film. Its underlying subplot is of the huge corporate chains destroying the Mom + Pop shop. It's not unlike those annoying op-ed pieces I've read about how those huge megalomaniacal theater chains running the small theaters to the ground (lessee... better seating, greater selection, better sound...).
It's been done before, but it doesn't seem to work in current films. _What's Eating Gilbert Grape_ comes to mind. In that, the small grocery store is being put out of business by the huge grocery chain (with double coupons, one-stop shopping, ATMs, etc. etc...). _Big Night_ comes to mind. I think only _It's a Wonderful Life_ was the most successful.
Let the truth be proclaimed: the consumer is ALWAYS right. If you like the Mom and Pop shop, GO THERE. If it doesn't stand up to the huge chains for the many aforementioned reasons, then those stores may just go out of business. Sad, but think: the former employees may find a job that better uses their skills for the general public.
So when _You've Got Mail_ rehashes this same plot-line, I get distracted. Frankly, as a former New Yorker, I've never encountered a store equal to "The Shop Around the Corner" (only in Greenwich, CT). The popular metropolitan bookstores are the Barnes & Nobles, the specialty bookstores (i.e. technical books, religious books), and used books (_The Strand_, promoted in _Six Degrees of Separation_).
Why couldn't have the store's owner, Birdie (Jean Stapleton) have transformed the shop into one of these stores? Or better marketed it's children's book niche? Instead, the screenplay sells out and has it run into a bigger issue than it has any right to be. The campaign for market takeover turns into a battle that goes city-wide, with local newscasters enterring the ring. This goes on for twenty minutes, is futile, and other than a few chuckles, just buys time.
So we are treated to the obligatory scene where Kathleen Kelly (Meg Ryan) is sobbing, finally entering the chain store, and wells up in tears when overhearing a conversation between a consumer and a know-nothing employee. A real cheap jab. It is very likely the same conversation could have occurred in _her_ store, with Steve Zahn's character being the know-nothing employee.
Otherwise, _You've Got Mail_ is a funny, cute, romantic comedy. Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan play characters they know well. Nora Ephron displays an uncanny West-Side New York tone: if you can stand the occasional stench, you'll have a good time.
Nick Scale: (1 to 10): 6.
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