Jack Choo
Starring : Tom Hanks (Joe Fox)
Meg Ryan (Kathleen Kelly)
Greg Kinnear (Frank Navasky)
Parker Posey (Patricia Eden)
Directed by Nora Ephron
Running Time : 1hr 45mins approx.
Rating : ***1/2 out of *****
YOU'VE GOT MAIL marks the third collaboration between Hanks and Ryan in a romantic comedy, the last two being hit comedy SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE and the other, mostly weird JOE VS. THE VOLCANO. It is also director Nora Ephron's 2nd collaboration with the pair. She wrote and directed SLEEPLESS a few years back. There is no doubt about Ryan's onscree charm. I believe she is the undisputed queen of romantic comedies for the past decade. As for Hanks, as versatile as an actor he may be, tackling on extremely diverse roles and gaining recognition for every one of them, he is yet again back in the kind of films which got him in the limelight.
![[ PIC FROM FILM ]](/film/images/1999.1/youvegotmail.jpg)
YOU'VE GOT MAIL is based on the 1960s' hit romantic comedy THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER, where its two principal characters (played by James Stewart and Margaret Sullavan) fall in love through anonymous letter correspondence while in real life they really hate each other. To keep up with times, this film is given the cyberspace treatment. This time, the two characters; Joe Fox (Hanks) and Kathleen (Ryan), correspond via e-mail; instead of the traditional lick-on-the-stamp-and-post, all they have to do is just click "SEND."
Over the internet, Joe and Kathleen are chat friends, pen-pals for the modern-age. However, as in the general norm of being chat-friends, they keep their "details" such as name, age, type of work etc, unknown to each other. Due to their anonymity towards each other's existence, they are able to talk about almost anything without any form of fear whatsoever. Though they mostly talk only about their daily routines and what they saw or felt over the period of that particular day, both look forward very much to each other's reply. The day would seem incomplete if they hadn't written a mail to the other person.
Joe Fox, a brilliant businessman in his own right opens another one of his popular Fox Bookstores (those types which offer great discounts and serve cappucino while you browse) right smack opposite the more authentic and traditional Store Around the Corner, a children's bookshop owned by Kathleen. Undaunted at first, Kathleen believes that Fox's new store will not affect the business of her more personal and cozy little shop. That is not to be -- her business drops dramatically.
Joe and Kathleen's encounters are not friendly; Kathleen complains about his lack of human touch on the business and with Joe it's all just business and expansion of his already massive fortune. Kathleen even goes on a personal crusade against the opening of Joe's megastore by voicing out her thoughts on any form of media she could get her hands on, the effort of which, was spawned by the advice given to her by Joe over the net!
There's really nothing to predict in romantic comedies. The outcome is always almost the same but fact is, they still draw hordes of people to the theatres. Hanks and Ryan are two of the best in this genre and when paired up, hardly anything can go wrong; box-office-wise that is. YOU'VE GOT MAIL is a pleasure to watch and will most definitely be the main choice for date-movies over the next few weeks. Nothing really memorable (I personally loved WHEN HARRY MET SALLY) but well worth the sitting.
There is gratuitous advertising in this movie; look out for our lovebirds typing away on their Macs and IBMs, sipping Starbucks coffee and a not so indirect handing out of a VISA card.
The Flying Inkpot's Rating System
* Wait for the TV2 broadcast.
** A little creaky, but still better than staying at home with Gotcha!
*** Pretty good, bring a friend.
**** Amazing, potent stuff.
***** Perfection. See it twice.
Read InkVault current film reviews at The Flying Inkpot
Read archived movie reviews at The Flying Inkpot.
Explore
the Flying Inkpot
They're
Alive!
Bit deadish:
Other
Resources at The Flying Inkpot
Home
1/2
