You've Got MailI hate America Online. I hate the busy signals, the "adults" who can't spell properly, the bad connections. I hate getting disconnected while downloading updates. I hate the ridiculous amount of junk mail that comes every five minutes. Hearing the three words "You've got mail" used to provoke emotions of joy and elation. Now it's quite possibly the most annoying sound you can hear while on AOL (more experienced users can learn how to change the sound). And don't get me started on the problems of Windows. Once that 'Blue Screen of Death' pops up and you need to reboot, losing all your data that you haven't saved (God knows I've lost a couple reviews to them), even the average person can explode in a fit of rage.
Thankfully, none of those troubles are dealt with in the wonderfully romantic film YOU'VE GOT MAIL, a remake of the 1940 film The Shop Around the Corner (which I admit I haven't seen). This whole film is filled with a fairy tale quality, even to go so far as to place a butterfly on a New York city subway. Whether or not Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan will end up together is inconsequentinal: we know they will. What is so appealing about the film is that it leaves you with a smile on your face. One of the only downsides to watching a movie such as this is that when you reach home, you can easily enter a state of depression, realizing your life will never be as interesting or romantic as that portrayed on the screen.
YOU'VE GOT MAIL revolves around two main characters: Kathleen Kelly (Ryan), the owner of a family-owned children's bookstore which specializes in care, courtesy, and knowledge; and Joe Fox (Hanks), the owner of a family-owned mega-bookstore which specializes in discounts, variety, and destroying competition. Smartly, the film does not cast the mega-bookstore as the villain. Instead, in one wonderful scene, Kelly enters the massive story and views a friendly atmosphere where people can read whatever they want in a comfortable setting. Kelly sits down in the children's section and bursts into tears while helping a customer one of the clerks could not help. This simple scene makes YOU'VE GOT MAIL better than your average story of corporate corruption.
Of course, it's not just about corporate corruption. It's mostly about romance and love, two things everyone would like to have. Nora Ephron, who directed and wrote the film with her sister Delia, gives us an uplifting story of finding romance in a world gone technological. E-mail has replaced written letters sent through "snail" mail, people obviously choosing speed over personal. This parallels the competing businesses quite nicely: the small, expensive children's bookstore is replaced by the impersonal and cheap mega-bookstore. The Internet is quickly replacing libraries which used to be the main source of information. Instead of checking books out, you can surf the Net and find what you want without any human contact. YOU'VE GOT MAIL is an argument that human contact is still necessary and more important nowadays than it ever was before.
The story itself is quite simple. Both Kelly and Fox hate each other in real life, yet they don't realize that online they are the best of friends. Kelly, as Shopgirl, communicates her most heartfelt desires and emotions to Fox, as NY152. The two form a very strong emotional bond, exchanging poetic observations of life back and forth. Humorously, when Kelly asks Fox for help on what she should do about her business, he responds, "Fight. Fight. Fight." If Fox knew that his business was her competition, he probably wouldn't give the same advice. Yet that simple plot device (often called the MacGuffin) keeps the two separate from each other. One simple word from either of them concerning their private lives could destroy their illusion. All Kelly would have to do is mention her store The Shop Around the Corner, and Fox would know instantly who she was. But the MacGuffin is that Kelly and Fox have both agreed to leave personal data out of their e-mail sessions.
The MacGuffin, however, is broken about two-thirds of the way through the movie when Kelly and Fox decide to meet. But this is not good enough for the sophisticated Ephrons who add a twist to the simple plot. Fox discovers who she is before meeting her, leaving Kelly in the dark. And as Kelly verbally abuses Fox, you can actually see his heart shatter. This poetic irony (Kelly uses Fox's advice to express her true emotions more often to hurt Fox) is something you don't find often in modern-day romance stories. YOU'VE GOT MAIL is an old-fashioned romantic comedy in the same vein as Capra or Hawkes. It's one of the hardest things to find: a PG-rated romantic-comedy that appeals to adults.
If anyone considers the premise to be far-fetched, let me disprove this right now. While chatting online, I met someone from my city. We started talking and realized we were very similar. Little did either of us realize that we were actually attending the same college, and just happened to be taking the exact same film class. The two of us could have easily met (we hadn't, but that's a mute point). It was an astonishing coincidence, yet it made YOU'VE GOT MAIL even more realistic for me. Perhaps the only problem with the film is that at times it feels more like a plug for America Online instead of an actual film.
The Ephrons pair up once again to bring us a romantic comedy in which fate and coincidence takes a good place in the narrative. Their previous film Sleepless in Seattle was a brilliant romantic comedy, one that remains unsurpassed in the 90s. YOU'VE GOT MAIL doesn't have the same timelessness that Sleepless had, but it does give us more of a chance to see Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks pair off with each other. Think of this film as a semi-continuation of that 1993 film. Ryan and Hanks are the Tracy and Hepburn of our generation. While they don't have the same gracefulness, they both shine perfectly together. While the chemistry between Ryan and Hanks isn't as palpable as that between Ryan and Nicolas Cage in City of Angels, both Ryan and Hanks' smiles can melt the heart of anyone. Together, the screen glows with an inviting cheerfulness. Ryan deserves an Oscar nomination just for making romantic comedies look easy.
The supporting cast here is almost as good as that in Sleepless in Seattle as well. Parker Posey, queen of the independent film genre, gives a very good performance as Hanks' hyperactive girlfriend. Greg Kinnear appears as a self-indulgent reporter, and his performance solidifies him as an actor to be taken seriously. Jean Stapleton is absolutely hilarious as an employee of Ryan's bookstore. Dabney Coleman is effective as Hanks' father, but he isn't given enough screen time to really develop the character. Steve Zahn gives the best performance in a supporting role as a rather sarcastic employee of Ryan's. His wry sense of humor is very funny. While none of them approach Rosie O'Donnell's hilarious portrayal of Ryan's best friend in Sleepless in Seattle, they have assembled a solid supporting cast to aid Hanks and Ryan.
YOU'VE GOT MAIL is rated PG for some language. It's good enough for children, though they might be bored. Meg Ryan has solidified her claim as the best romantic lead available. This is one of those rare films that makes you feel so good afterwards that leaving the theater is an unwelcomed event. After it ended, I wanted to go home, download AOL, and jump online. When I did, I quickly realized why I hate AOL. Oh well... at least we have this movie to give us a taste of what online romance could be like.