You've Got Mail: Pointing and Clicking Towards Romance

Reviewed by Vickie, Cinema Geek

Vick's Rating:

= There's two hours of my life I'll never see again. Is it too late to ask for my money back?
= They could have done SO much better. Wait for the video.
= Not bad at all. Some solid work.
= Wow! I'm very impressed. I might go see this one again.
= For the love of all that is good and kind in the world, what an amazing movie!!!

Directed by Nora Ephron

Cast:
Joe Fox...........Tom Hanks
Kathleen Kelly...Meg Ryan
Patricia.......Parker Posey
Frank............Greg Kinnear
Birdie........Jean Stapleton
George............Steve Zahn
Kevin........Dave Chappelle

People love email. They love to send it, receive it, forward it, save it, print it, live it. It's taken the place of phone calls and letters and faxes, and has become as much a part of the daily routine as taking out the garbage and feeding the cat. Believe me, I know, because I'm one of those email junkies who checks her mailbox feverishly every hour on the hour, hoping to hear that little blip that tells me it's not empty...again.

So when "You've Got Mail" rolled into theaters, I was primed and ready. A whole movie about email? Cool! And, happily, I was not disappointed.

The film, directed by Nora Ephron ("Sleepless in Seattle"), is an updated retelling of the old Jimmy Stewart-Margaret Sullavan movie "The Shop Around the Corner," where a man and a woman who are, for all intents and purposes, enemies are also unknowingly the dearest of pen pals. Similarly, "You've Got Mail" follows two vastly different people who connect -- literally -- online, and carry on an email friendship despite the fact they've unknowingly encountered each other in real life and are, in business anyway, bitter rivals. At one end of the modem line is Joe Fox (Tom Hanks), a shrewd but amiable businessman who heads a chain of megabookstores and who gleefully relishes crushing the small, independent shops unfortunate enough to stand in the way of his progress. He strikes up an Internet friendship with Kathleen Kelly (Meg Ryan), the spirited (can Meg Ryan be anything but spirited?) owner of one of those aforementioned indie bookstores, whom he knows only as "Shopgirl." She laments the fate of her business, he gives her tips on standing up for herself in the face of business competition. And back and forth they go, until one of them clues in to the identity of the other and the story becomes a question of "will they or won't they?"

Of course, we all know the answer, but it's still fun to watch the whole thing unfold. There are the requisite significant others (Parker Posey, Greg Kinnear) who are clearly (to the audience, anyway) completely wrong for the two leads, but who are there nonetheless to throw a wrench into the works, provide some conflict and serve up a healthy dose of comic relief. Ditto the numerous--and I do mean numerous--extraneous characters populating the screen who offer their own opinions, moral examples, advice and criticism. In fact, that was the only real problem I had with the film: too many people! There are friends, foes, colleagues, parents, step-parents, siblings, and even flashbacks of characters no longer living.

But, sizable cast list aside, I still really enjoyed the movie.

Hanks and Ryan are a great onscreen couple. They're both sweet, good-natured and you can't help but like them no matter what kind of nasty things they might do or say. It's Tom Hanks! It's Meg Ryan! All is immediately forgiven. You want them to be together, and that's key in a film like this one. The giant supporting cast is also excellent. Posey and Kinnear, in somewhat limited roles, make for nice contrasts to their co-stars; Dabney Coleman shows up in a delicious role as Joe's womanizing father; Jean Stapleton is the mature voice of reason; and Steve Zahn and Dave Chappelle are hilarious as Kathleen and Joe's would-be advisors.

But the film also worked for me on a personal level...and I don't just mean because I could relate to an obsessive love of email. One of my favorite things about seeing movies is sitting in a theater and having some tiny facet of the story or the characters teach me something about myself. There are many, many little gems of wisdom in Ephron's film. Some are silly, as when Kathleen states that hats are almost always a mistake to buy, but others are oddly profound. There is, for example, a moment in the film where a seemingly defeated Kathleen is ready to close up her store. She views it as a cowardly act--caving in to the pressures of big business. But then someone points out that, in fact, what she's considering is incredibly brave, because she's daring to imagine a new life for herself. I dunno...I thought it was strangely profound, and those are the kind of cinematic moments that are like icing on the cake for me. So there.

Granted, the film is a bit of fantasy--not all (heck, probably not many) of those faceless beings we encounter online are going to turn out to be a Tom Hanks or a Meg Ryan, but overall, fans of romantic comedies/Tom Hanks/Meg Ryan/email should get a kick out of "You've Got Mail." Bookmark it for holiday viewing, then email me and tell me what you thought. Lord knows, my mailbox could use the visits.

Adversity seems to be a theme on the big screen right now, with two decidedly different films each extolling the virtues of being different and daring to think outside the norm. "A Bug's Life" (1/2) tells the story of an enterprising ant named Flik, who rallies his fellow colony-mates around a rag-tag group of circus bugs in order to battle the bigger, meaner grasshoppers...something that just isn't done. The colorful characters and zany antics will keep kids entertained (okay, and the grown-ups, too), and the valuable lesson that it's okay to be different underscores the action and makes for a great family film.

Similar morals can be found in "Patch Adams," (1/2) an admittedly sappy and sentimental movie based on the true story of Hunter Adams, a man who believes that laughter is sometimes the best medicine. Robin Williams portrays Adams, and his unique comic flair is perfectly suited to a character like this one. Despite some harsh words from critics that this movie is too syrupy sweet to be good, I was ready to be manipulated. And I was, but it was still a solid film with some great moments. Bring Kleenex.

Vickie, a self-confessed movie addict, has spent the last few years working at an entertainment magazine in Canada. When she's not toiling away at her computer in the office, she's toiling away at her computer at home-- hacking away at unfinished screenplays and planning her acceptance speech for the Academy Awards.