You've Got Mail (1998) 3 stars out of 4. Starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan.
You've Got Mail is a timely romance for this impersonal, computer-driven decade.
Two people who've never met confide in each other via e-mail without revealing their true identities.
Nora Ephron's contemporary update of The Shop Around the Corner retains the basic plot: Two people who despise each other unwittingly become enamored with each other through their anonymous correspondence.
Ephron, who co-wrote the film with her sister, Delia, as well as directed it, knew what she was doing by reteaming Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan as the at-odds couple.
Ryan is Kathleen Kelly, owner of a small children's bookstore, while Hanks is Joe Fox, who heads up a chain of mega bookstores (think Barnes & Noble).
Their charm and chemistry are the glue that binds this film, even through some of the script's rough spots.
For the Ephrons invested so much effort in their protagonists that they give short shrift to the talented supporting cast, including Parker Posey, Greg Kinnear, Jean Stapleton and Steve Zahn.
Yet no one is really going to complain because the Ephrons know their audience - and what the paying public wants is Hanks and Ryan.
And the two are kept busy. One, the other or both are in nearly every scene.
Hanks has his decent guy routine down pat, yet each time he does it, it seems effortless, spontaneous and fresh.
Ryan smoothly moves between spunky and vulnerable, with a sexy touch of winsomeness added to the brew.
Their scenes together sparkle, even though they lack the nostalgic romanticism of Sleepless in Seattle.
And the shadow of that earlier hit hangs over You've Got Mail like dried-up mistletoe. The sparks created by the earlier movie are, by necessity, not evident here. True, these are two people seeking true love, but You've Got Mail is more comic and less poignant than its predecessor.
The Ephrons' script is witty and sharp. However, as a director Nora Ephron is a bit uneven. Some scenes drag, while others, especially when Hanks and Ryan are revealing their souls via e-mail, are crisp and tidy.
Also, the script gets sloppy toward the end with characters merely disappearing from the story.
A nice, romantic soundtrack adds to this date-night special.
Overall, You've Got Mail is a lush and cute outing, taking advantage of the star appeal of its two leads.
It's a nice holiday movie, one for holding hands and snuggling.
Bob Bloom is the film critic at the Journal and Courier in Lafayette, Ind. He can be reached by e-mail at bloom@journal-courier.com or cbloom@iquest.net
cb
Carol Bloom of Bloom Ink Publishing Professionals 3312 Indian Rock Lane West Lafayette, IN 47906-1203 765-497-9320 fax 765-497-3112 cbloom@iquest.net
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