You've Got Mail

  • PG
  • Nora Ephron (1998)
  • US
  • 114 min
You've Got Mail
Film Review
Reviewed By
3 out of 5

This frail but winsome romantic comedy reunited Tom Hanks with both his Sleepless in Seattle co-star, Meg Ryan, and director, Nora Ephron. Billed as the screen's first internet love story, it is a reworking of Ernst Lubitsch's classic The Shop around the Corner, in which the stars play rivals in the bookshop business who unknowingly fall for each other in an online chat-room. But it's rarely as amusing as it should be and, for the most part, is frustratingly unromantic, with the leads coming together more like merged files than infatuated lovers. What's more, Ephron's combination of battle-of-the-sexes comedy and the struggle between community and capitalism (that tries to echo the style of Frank Capra) lacks social resonance. However, the latter-day screwball tale is certainly slickly staged and played with consummate ease, and Ryan and her bookshop staff exude a pleasant feeling of cosiness.

Plot Summary

Romantic comedy starring Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks as Kathleen Kelly and Joe Fox, the owners of rival New York bookshops. When Joe threatens to put Kathleen out of business, he shares his misgivings about the impending closure of her store and other personal secrets with an anonymous chat-room partner - and makes a startling discovery that only adds to his dilemma.

Cast and crew

Cast

Joe Fox
Tom Hanks
Kathleen Kelly
Meg Ryan
Frank Navasky
Greg Kinnear
Patricia Eden
Parker Posey
Nelson Fox
Dabney Coleman
George Pappas
Steve Zahn
Kevin Scanlon
Dave Chappelle
Christina Plutzker
Heather Burns

Crew

Director
Nora Ephron

Other Information

Language: 
English
Colour
Theatrical distributor: 
Warner Brothers
Guidance: 
May be edited for language.
Available on video and DVD
Certificate PG
Categories
Comedy

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