You've Got Mail

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Summary: what this movie is about
Review: this movie is about the debate over email...think about it am i wrong?

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Summary: VERY ENJOYABLE MOVIE
Review: This is one of my favorites of this genre. Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan do a wonderful job of acting and the story is more than adequate. This is a light hearted movie, something I would like to see more of. I had to agree with the one reviewer who felt that those not particularly fond of this movie, are those that have become a bit jaded. Some movies shoud simply be fun to watch. This is one of them. I highly recommend it for the entire family.

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Summary: Real life imitates the movies!
Review: This movie came out about the same time that my daughter, who lived in Washington, DC, met a man on the internet from Portland, OR. It was Kismet!! They fell in love and courted over the internet and began a year-long bi-coastal relationship that culminated in a wedding 1 1/2 years after they "met." It's now been almost 6 years and they are blissfully happy!! So every time I see this movie (as often as I can), I relive the magic!

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Summary: Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan...perfect combination
Review: Nora Ephron, Tom Hanks, and Meg Ryan are at it again with this romantic comedy. Tom and Meg were a great duo in Sleepless in Seattle, and they equaled their performance in this film. Plus, with great directing and writing by Nora Ephron (i should point out that her sister wrote a lot of the script too, give credit when its due) the film was bound to be great. And great it was. A wonderful story, although not completely original, this is just a very modern day version of 'The Shop Around the Corner' which was a movie a long time ago apparantly (dont know exactly when shop around the corner came around, im only 16). Original or not, Ephron did a great job and changed many little things from the original movie that made the story even better. And with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan as the 2 stars of the movie, its gotta be good! Highly recommended!

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Summary: A great romance-comedy
Review: I really liked this movie. It isn't too cheesy and unrealistic, well maybe a bit, but I still love the story. Tom and Meg are great actors and they are perfect for romance-comedies, I swear I could watch this movie anytime.

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Summary: You've Got a Second Rate Romantic Comedy
Review: I never saw "Sleepless in Seattle," but based on reviews read here, Hanks and Ryan have amazing screen chemistry. Unfortunately, it was not apparent in "You've Got Mail." Ryan was great in "When Harry Met Sally," as the perky cutesy adorable chick, but she was also in her 20s back then. On a 35-year-old woman, it starts looking a little ragged around the edges, and, frankly, I cringed more than once at Ryan's character during this film. The only actress more typecast than Ryan is Julia Roberts. Honestly, are there no other roles for women in Hollywood other than perky and cute or whiny and self-absorbed?

Product and corporate name placement was problematic in this film, including the title. And the Ryan character had no difficulty buying her "tall decaf mocha caramel macchiata latte cappuccino" from a Starbucks, at the same time lambasting the Hanks character for being a corporate whore. Talk about a mixed message. Ephron apparently had no misgivings about making this movie "Product Placement Central." Unfortunately, this completely diminished the validity of the dilemma with which Ryan's character was faced - her store closing because a corporate chain moved in next door. Since she herself feeds the monster she's fighting, it's difficult to empathize, because Ephron's message is so convoluted in this respect.

This film had to be a no-brainer for Hanks. Just show up and collect a paycheck. There was nothing remarkable about his role. His character lacked any depth of persona - he was a caricature of a capitalist corporate business owner whose "love" for Ryan (or the two children, the "aunt" and "brother") could not be understood in any meaningfuul way, given the main crux of his character. It's no secret that the majority of men in the economic and professional position of "Joe Fox" lack personal depth of character because those more "feminine" and "caring" traits detract from their highest goal - making money. Men in these positions generally write off women who are supposedly as intelligent, feisty, and independent as the Ryan character, but Ephron apparently wants us to engage in the fantasy that Joe Fox, by email, has undergone some sort of psychological/spiritual awakening and is actually just a normal nice funny guy, when in his "real life" he is a corporate bulldog who cares nothing about workers, small business owners, or the community social and economic results of his business agenda.

The secondary characters were more likable. It's only too bad that not a single character besides Ryan and Hanks was allowed to be developed. I've seen Dave Chappelle live, and he's a scream, so it was disappointing he was given so little time in this film. And Jean Stapleton probably would have been better served with a more important role. Playing her against the capitalist Dabney Coleman or the bizarre retro grandfather character could have added another dimension to the film.

It is difficult to watch second-rate romantic comedies such as this if you are accustomed to seeing some of the older Woody Allen fare. Allen's way of intermingling stories, developing characters, and weaving subplots simply cannot be matched by these other writers. And that's a shame.

Seeing this film does not compel me to want to see "Sleepless in Seattle." Why bother? Hanks and Ryan apparently couldn't pull off whatever it was this time. And I would have misgivings about seeing another Ephron film, given the complete and utter corporate shill she allowed for this piece of work.

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Summary: Love books and you will find love...
Review: As a librarian I just love movies and books around books or libraries. This movie is about the lovestory of the children's bookshop owner Kathleen Kelly (Meg Ryan) and the owner of the big chain of bookstores Joe Fox (Tom Hanks). They both are in relationships without love. Because Joe opens a big bookshop close to the little shop of Kathleen she goes out of business. For him it was just business. Not for her because her late mother opened the store years ago. Anonymously they are already emailfriends. Joe finds out about this when they planned to meet and starts using this contact to get closer to her. Because it is a lovestory you know how it will end. This is also very clear from the beginning of the movie but you don't mind. If you love a good romantic movie, keep your tissues ready. I needed a few at the end.

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Summary: Not Just a Romantic Comedy
Review: Almost everyone is focusing on the admittedly cute love story between Meg Ryan and Tom Hank's characters. However, there is a very profound, intelligenly handled sub-plot that forms the second 'McGuffin' of the film that most reviewers are missing. Specifically, the impact of large chains, and not just book ones, on small shops.

There are no villians here. Unlike what some reviewers said, Joe Fox' Fox books is not "driving Kathleen Kelley's shop out of business". He does not sell at a loss to force her out. He doesn't do thngs to prevent her customers from shopping at her store, nor does he do anything to sabotage her promotions. He simply has a much bigger selection at lower prices. She unquestionably is more knowledgeable about and cares more deeply about books. Wintess thr poignant scene after her shop closes and she vists his store for the first time. The worker there is totally clueless about how to answer a customer's inquiry, while Kathleen knows all about the subject. Witness the scene at the beginning, before Fox Books opens, where she has a children's story time. Clearly, she offer much more, and more personal and heartfelt, service. That isn't enough, though, to keep her business. Her supposedly loyal customers and supporters pay her great lip service, but don't hesitate to voluntarily go to Fox Books to buy. That's not Joe's "fault". There's nothing "wrong" with how Kathleen is conducting her business. She's making no "mistakes". But, his business is thriving and hers is failing. Sadly, that's what's happening throughout the country. People may talk a good line about how they treasure the personal, small bookstores, but they're spending their dollars elsewhere. In most areas of the country , the small owner-run stores, many multi-generational are disappearing not through the actions of the big stores, but because customers aren't supporting them. This is handled extremely well in this move, almost better than the love story itself. It doesn't just do a dollars and cents narrative, it demonstraes the impact of this phenomena on the people involved. Kudos for addresing this in a bittersweet way, with an overlying "sweet" story to get the message to a greater audience.

One thing. It's not hypocritical to be admiring the delivery of this message and yet be shopping at Amazon. Amazon really ins't a threat to the small owner-run bookstore as much as it is a competitor to the large chains (Amazon wasn't even a serious player when this film came out). Amazon is in many ways closer to the small book shops. More information about each book, semi-personal service, the ability to share information and, before the lawyers got involved, the ability to browse through the books at your leisure. Small bookstores that are making a go of it are working in their respective niches or in their small towns and people who shop at Amazon tend to patronize them as well.

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Summary: A lighthearted and fun film to snuggle in front of
Review: In an effort to capture much of the warmth and chemistry between Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, Director Nora Ephron paired the two up again in an antagonism-turned-to-love story about a bargain book tycoon and a children book store owner who battle during the day, and escape into a world of email and chat rooms -- only to find each other and fall in love, without knowing its the other person.

This film doesn't require a lot of deep thinking, and its not the tear-jerker that Sleepless in Seattle is (I'm secure in my manhood - I can admit its a tear-jerker). There are no surprises, but its a fun film, you can't help but like the characters, and you know its all going to work out with them together in the end.

Also of note are great performances by Greg Kinnear as the quirky boyfriend, Parker Posey as Tom Hank's selfish socialite girlfriend, Steve Zahn as Meg's dopey employee.