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You've Got Mail | Year: 1998 Classification: Comedy Directed: - Nora Ephron Actors/Actresses: - Tom Hanks as Joe Fox - Meg Ryan as Kathleen Kelly - Steve Zahn - Jean Stapleton - Parker Posey - Greg Kinnear Sorry to Disagree. This was a HUGE disappointment. My wife and I loved "Sleepless In Seattle". We were never able to see "You've Got Mail" in the theater, so we just bought the DVD based on the cast and their director. We are sorry we did. Where "Sleepless" was energetic, fresh and witty, "Mail" was contrived and, frankly, boring. The many plot parallels between "Sleepless" and "Mail" were also disconcerting, which made it difficult to treat this film as a standalone effort. My wife, who has watched "Ever After" about 10 times this week, and a movie I also think was excellent, is certainly a fan of the romantic genre. She was very dissapointed in this film. I'm surprised I'm saying this about Tom Hanks, but even he was a bit lifeless and sedate in this movie. His character was hardly warm and likeable and rarely his animated, humorous self. Although he found some redemption toward the end, and there were slight moments where his physical comedy and mannerisms shined, there was little if any chemistry between him and Meg Ryan during their scenes. I think all the reviews praising their chemistry in "Mail" must be seeing something that really isn't there. Consider that, in "Sleepless", Ryan and Hanks were together for about 2 minutes in the entire film. Now that they actually have sustained conversations together in "Mail", it became clear that it takes more than a romantic, somewhat clever back story to bring two people together in a convincing manner. The characters in "Sleepless" had much deeper development, and you really cared for Tom, his child, and the loss of his wife. Ryan's curse of a fussy husband-to-be was also cause for concern about her plight, and how she was touched by Hanks' situation via radio. In "Mail", you have no sense of Hanks' or Ryan's character except through their emails, which despite their emotional intimacy, failed to sell you on what motivated these people. I simply did not care about either Hanks or Ryan that much. In "Sleepless", you wanted them to win each other's hearts. In "Mail", you wanted them to just lighten up a bit and be more accessible. The supporting cast was literally dead on arrival. Jean Stapleton gave the most contribution, but Ryan's other lethargic friends and Greg Kinnear's poorly scripted and directed characterization of someone against technology, were throwaway, uninteresting roles. When Greg brought out the typewriter, I was almost nauseous. What a typical way to reflect someone's fight against technology. It was unfunny and unimaginative. Basically, there was so much potential for this film, but its legacy of "Sleepless" and the many parallels with that film made "Mail" seem innocuous and slight in comparison. The lack of energy, poor character development, and the feeble romantic connection between Ryan and Hanks dropped this DVD to the bottom of our collection I hate Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan I'm not much for "romantic comedies" but i was at a friends house and they had rented it so i watched it with the intention of making fun of it.I enjoyed it very much which surprised me.I actually enjoyed Tom and Megs performances.A lot of people complained that it's not an acurate portrayal of New York but that didn't bother me.The plot was fairly enjoyable,two people meet on the internet and fall in love, if you wanted to split hairs you could point out that a lot of people in chat rooms are sleazy, but in Meg Ryans world the're Tom Hanks.I think it's a sweet movie with a good cast of supporting players,Steve Zahn,Jean Stapleton and the fantastic Parker Posey.Its not my kind of movie but i would recommend it just dont expect it to be a realistic portrayal of anything. A Great Romantic Comedy! Tom Hanks made this movie right after he finished shooting "Saving Private Ryan", and it was a relief to finally see him in a light-hearted movie after all the serious movies that he's been in. I have to admit that this isn't one of those movies that guys would want to see unless they're forced into buying/renting the movie to watch with their wife/girlfriend. That's the reason I saw the movie, but I have to admit that it's entertaining. This is the story of two people who have parallel relationships with each other. On the one hand, each is an entrepreneur in the book business. Hanks plays a character named Joe Fox, whose family owns a chain of very large bookstores. Meg Ryan plays Kathleen Kelly, who owns a small "mom-and-pop" bookstore. Joe has just opened one of his bookstores in the same neighborhood as Kathleen's store, and she's losing business as a result. They quickly become adversaries, and Kathleen is very bitter that she's being forced out of business because of Joe's monopoly over the book-selling industry. Kathleen lashes out at Joe and blames him for her failed business, while he maintains that it's "just business" and isn't personal. On the other hand, these same two people are having an anonymous relationship with each other over the internet. They met i Bouquets of sharpened pencils, indeed Here's the main and completely irrelevant reason to love this movie: New York City in the fall. Honestly, it should have no bearing whatsoever on the plot, but it does -- and it's impossible not to fall in love with the bright, sunshiny, orange-leaved sheer beauty of the city encapsulated in this movie. Without even resorting to shots of Central Park in all its glory (and really, who can resist that?), "You've Got Mail" takes you on a lovely scenic tour of the Upper West Side, Starbucks and all. Who can resist the street fairs, the parks, the stores, the dock? It's picture-perfect, and if it's a bit surreal, I won't admit it: New York really is rather lovely in the fall. Aside from making me want to run away to the Big Apple and work in the children's section at Fox Books, "You've Got Mail" also features Meg Ryan at her most adorable ("Aren't daisies just the friendliest flower?"), Tom Hanks at his most charming, and a terrific supporting cast (Greg Kinnear and those typewriters!). The story, a modernized little "remake" of "The Shop Around The Corner", is more fairy tale than realism -- two people fall in love over email, in war in real life, and however can such a thing be solved -- but it's an enchanting story nonetheless. In a time when romance on the web seems all-too-seedy and in reality, sometimes frankly dangerous, this little tale of two people sharing their most intimate thoughts long before they share a single glance is like a breath of fresh air. Sure, the technology's a little faded, but the magic's still there. Buy You Ve Got Mail at Amazon.com Buy posters at Allposters.com Jamster - the latest ringtones for your phone!  Search with Walhello on the Internet on You Ve Got Mail Search with the Priority Search Engine on You Ve Got Mail This page in other languages: Suomeksi | Nederlands | Deutsch
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