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7

SpangleFeb 8, 2017

One of these days, these painfully cute romantic comedies will drive me up the wall. You've Got Mail is particularly egregious with Joe Fox (Tom Hanks) lying to Kathleen Kelly (Meg Ryan) throughout the film. I should hate this. I know that.One of these days, these painfully cute romantic comedies will drive me up the wall. You've Got Mail is particularly egregious with Joe Fox (Tom Hanks) lying to Kathleen Kelly (Meg Ryan) throughout the film. I should hate this. I know that. It is really stupid and cheesy, but I cannot help myself. I keep watching these mushy and cute romantic comedies and I keep loving the blasted things. Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan have insatiable chemistry and my heart is broken, ok not broken, but disheartened when I realize they stopped making movies together after this. I need more dammit. This is a tough film to review because it is so non-descript that there is really nothing to chew on. There is no meat here, as it is just cliched and capitalizing on the chemistry between the two and on Hanks' rising star power.

That said, the real highlight here is the chemistry. Hanks and Ryan are tremendous together. Their banter, negative encounters, and positive encounters, always feel authentic. They feel like real people and always feel connected to one another. Both turn in great performances as well, really displaying their respective charisma and maximizing on its potential in romantic comedies. Though Joe Fox is a jerk for lying, Hanks is such a charismatic actor, it is not hard to still want Kathleen to see past his awfulness.

Additionally, the film is a bit ahead of its time. Yes, the AOL dial-up is from the past and glorious, but meeting people online is more common nowadays and this film really captured that anxiety. Will they like me? What do they look like? There are ways to avoid it now, but some still do find themselves in this situation. Somehow, Nora Ephron captured this brilliantly with both characters being terrific in displaying the anxiety and, of course, Joe's reaction with his friend Kevin (Dave Chappelle) to seeing Kathleen waiting for him.

Interestingly, the film is also a compelling look at business. Book store rivals, Joe Fox is heir to the throne of a large company. Kathleen is heir to the wooden chair of a small storefront. The two are combative in business, hence why their meeting was so truly awkward and unlikely. Ephron plays on that angle a bit too much in the romance, hence the lying. But, in its portrayal of a big business steam rolling a small one, it shows both sides incredibly well. Yes, it is tragic to lose that small store that was always on the street and connected with the local people. However, the big store is not all bad. The employees may be less knowledgeable and management more disconnected, but it has larger reach and is more affordable. For books, this is a great thing as it allows reading to reach more people and the extra amenities in the store do foster community and establish the store as one that people would like to be in with a good book in front of them. Yet, it attracts incredibly negative attention for derailing popular local stores, even though they too provide a valuable service.

Impeccably cute, but a little grating at times, You've Got Mail is simply an excuse to watch Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan hang out for two hours. It may be surprising, but this has a lot of entertainment value on its own. Plus, did I mention how cute this film is? Ugh is it ever cute.… Expand

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10

Sunflower77Jul 8, 2022

This is one of my favorite movies! I must have seen this over 500 times! This is seriously one of the cutest movies!

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6

inaneswineNov 14, 2017

On the surface, the film is a typical romantic comedy, based on the premise that two business enemies begin anonymously chatting to each other online, and fall in love with each other's nameless identities through the internet. For me, thisOn the surface, the film is a typical romantic comedy, based on the premise that two business enemies begin anonymously chatting to each other online, and fall in love with each other's nameless identities through the internet. For me, this was the least interesting part of the film. What interested me more was its exploration of the business world, and the moral grey area of huge business chains and franchises sweeping through society, forcing the closure of smaller, family-run businesses that haven't a snowball's chance in hell of competing.

Nonetheless, it is clear that this was not the main point that the filmmakers were trying to show, and what results is a slow romantic comedy, and the romance that ever-so-slowly blossoms between Hanks and Ryan feels all the more forced. Hanks gives a typically great performance, and Ryan isn't too shabby either. It's a shame that they are surrounded by a chorus of one-dimensional characters who really offer nothing of true value to the story, and the plot itself is strained to the point of implausibility. But for most of its runtime, it will keep you entertained.… Expand

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6

amheretojudgeAug 24, 2018

calculative and constructive steps..

You've Got Mail You've Got Mail is a plot driven romance about a guy and a girl who are unknown to each other but knows more about each other than anyone. It is a classic romantic tale whose simplicitycalculative and constructive steps..

You've Got Mail

You've Got Mail is a plot driven romance about a guy and a girl who are unknown to each other but knows more about each other than anyone. It is a classic romantic tale whose simplicity is its key that unlocks each and every emotions of the audience as it goes through its track. The chemistry as required, is just amazing with both the lead cast, investing equally, draws out the heat from the content. Ticking for two hours, there isn't an inch of the feature, that is bourgeois or distraction, it is pure concrete material. The goofyness, the flirty talks, the references and the cheesy tricks, all works in its favour because of its genuine reasonings that are justified to the core. Chugging down all the perspective that they could squeeze out in the allotted time, it offers enough reasons for the audience to stay on the edge of the seat. It is short on technical aspects like background score, cinematography and sound department. The camera work is decently handled with beautiful visuals and bright colors that lights up the feature and offers a breezy atmosphere to the viewers. The narrative is smart if not mature, hilarious if not practical and honest to the core if chalky around the edges. Hanks has never been better with his flawed and complex character while Ryan is good enough to steal the spotlight from him. Ephron; the co-writer and director, may not be as convincing while executing the script, but his screenplay is worth basically everything. Argumentative conversations, witty dialogues and the good old romantic tale that we all have been missing are the high points of the feature. You've Got Mail cannot be categorized into guilty pleasure, it is much smarter than it seems in its calculative and constructive steps.… Expand

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10

meydianarizki21Oct 25, 2022

Well, I honestly do not no what to say...
...except for the fact that this movie made me so happy! I'm a huge Tom Hanks fan and I collect all of his movies, and it has been quite some time since i've seen a really good and special movie ofWell, I honestly do not no what to say...
...except for the fact that this movie made me so happy! I'm a huge Tom Hanks fan and I collect all of his movies, and it has been quite some time since i've seen a really good and special movie of his. He's just such a wonderful actor and Meg Ryan's just... Well, she's just so great, always happy and when she's acting she always makes me laugh, cause she's just so wonderful! Let's talk about this movie: I'm gonna be honest with you, this isn't Forrest Gump or The Green Mile, but it is romantic, special, wonderful and it made me smile and wish for them to get together in the film, and in the end I was just happier then before! I think it's underrated, but everyone has a special taste, and I just loved it! I seriously recommend it to every Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan fan, you are not going to regret it! Thank you for your time..… Expand

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10

hankwmardukasNov 28, 2018

For my inaugural review for The Puritan Post, my boss told me I was could write about any movie I wanted, since he doesn’t have money to actually pay for me to go to the movies. “You’ve Got Mail” is my favorite romantic comedy. I actually ownFor my inaugural review for The Puritan Post, my boss told me I was could write about any movie I wanted, since he doesn’t have money to actually pay for me to go to the movies. “You’ve Got Mail” is my favorite romantic comedy. I actually own three copies of the 1998 Tom Hanks/Meg Ryan classic on VHS (I don’t use DVDs or Blu Rays). The truth is that I adore this movie. I love “You’ve Got Mail”. I probably love “You’ve Got Mail” more than Seth Rogen’s character in “Undeclared”. Also, props if you got that reference. In all seriousness though, “You’ve Got Mail” is the perfect rom-com and a perfect love story. Here’s why.
“You’ve Got Mail” takes the best parts of “Sleepless in Seattle” and fixes the flaws of the second in the Tom Hanks/Meg Ryan Rom-Com trilogy. You might be asking “Hank, I thought ‘You’ve Got Mail’ was the second Hanks/Ryan rom-com”. Wrong, friendo. People always forget “Joe Versus The Volcano". The main reason “You’ve Got Mail” is better than “Sleepless in Seattle” is the plot. There is no real conflict in the latter film. Whereas in “You’ve Got Mail”, there’s an inherently compelling conflict: the two protagonists who are in love with each other are business rivals, but they don’t know it yet. This brilliant device could be attributed to the fact that “You’ve Got Mail” is a remake of the 1940 Jimmy Stewart film “The Shop Around the Corner”, but nevertheless, “You’ve Got Mail” takes this familiar concept and modernizes it in an original way that was incredibly ahead of its time.
Another area S.I.S. falls drastically short of Y.G.M. is in the characters. In “Sleepless in Seattle”, Meg Ryan is engaged to a super cool dude in Bill Pullman, whom she sneaks around on for some guy she’s “in love with” that she’s literally only ever heard on the radio. Whereas in the modern masterpiece, “You’ve Got Mail”, our heroine is dating a horribly self-involved, obnoxious dude, who is addicted to buying vintage typewriters in Greg Kinnear (who kills it in this flick by the way). “You’ve Got Mail” doubles down by giving Tom Hanks a similarly horrible girlfriend as well played by Parker Posey (who also kills it), instead of being a widower who may or may not be ready to move on as he was in “Sleepless in Seattle”. By giving us characters with horrible love lives, it is a lot easier to root for said characters to fall in love. The reality is, both movies are still classic romantic comedies. However, it is incredibly impressive that the writer and director who made both flicks was able to make such vast improvements the second time around. Well played, Nora Ephron, well played.
All “Sleepless in Seattle” comparisons aside, “You’ve Got Mail” was years ahead of its time in telling a technology-centric love story. And unlike most tech-centric rom-coms since then, it still holds up (looking at you ‘Must Love Dogs’). The bottom line is that if you haven’t seen “You’ve Got Mail”, you’re not only doing yourself a disservice as a moviegoer, but also as an American. “You’ve Got Mail” is a beautiful story about how two people with two totally different ideological viewpoints can fall in love because of who they are inside. If that isn’t a love story with relevance today, I don’t know what is. Oh, and Tom Hanks’ best friend in the movie is Dave Chappelle. How many other rom-coms have Dave Chappelle in them? Not enough, sadly. None, actually.… Expand

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1

RitaP.Feb 1, 2006

Truly painful cinematic experience. How can accompolished actors like Hanks and Ryan involve themselves in such tripe? And Alice Z...oh my god, you cannot be serious?

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10

davecFeb 14, 2007

I loved this movie. Meg Ryan was adorable!

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10

AliceZOct 20, 2005

This is still my favorite romantic comedy of all time! So cute and funny. I love it!

0 of 0 users found this helpful

6

EpicLadySpongeApr 7, 2016

Something came in the mail today... I wonder what is it. It's..... YOU'VE GOT MAIL!!!! Sorry, even the joke's stupid, but I made it a lot better to fit in this movie. If I ever see this movie in my inbox, you should know what I'm going to do with it.