Thursday, April 09, 2009

Classic Movie Review: You've Got Mail

Not just another sappy love story, You’ve Got Mail is a sweet movie that’s no chick flick.

The 1998 movie You’ve Got Mail is the third pairing of leading man Tom Hanks with an adorable Meg Ryan. Before You’ve Got Mail, Hanks and Ryan appeared together in the mega hit Sleepless in Seattle and then again in the forgettable Joe Verus the Volcano. In You’ve Got Mail, Hanks and Ryan show us once again why they’re a match made in heaven.



With a supporting cast that includes Greg Kinnear, Parker Posey, Dabney Coleman, Jean Stapleton, and Dave Chappelle, You’ve Got Mail is a remake of the 1940 movie, The Shop Around the Corner. (That version starred Jimmy Stewart and Margaret Sullavan).

The updated version of the story is about two New Yorkers, Kathleen Kelly (Ryan) and Joe Fox (Hanks). Arch rivals when it comes to business, he’s a superstore millionaire who threatens to shut down her tiny children’s bookstore. What these enemies don’t realize is that they’ve been communicating with each other anonymously online for months in an internet chat room.

Their messages to each other are playful and fun, and since both of them are already in relationships with other people it's just harmless flirting. Greg Kinnear is a hoot as Kathleen Kelly’s narcissistic writer boyfriend, while Parker Posey plays the whiny, grating, younger girlfriend of Joe Fox.



But as fate (or Hollywood) will have it, both couples' relationships end and Joe proposes that he and his online pal meet. When he peeks in the window of the cafe that they have planned to meet at, he is stunned to see that his anonymous online love interest is Kathleen Kelly.

At that point he begins his plan to sweep Kathleen off of her feet, even though she hates him. In time she forgives him for forcing her book store to close down and the rest is…..well, I don’t want to completely give the ending away.

You’ve Got Mail is directed by Nora Ephron. It’s a sweet romantic comedy that I recommend for a lazy Sunday afternoon. With just you, and maybe a box of Kleenex for the ending!

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