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You've Got Mail Customer Reviews (25 - 27 of 71 Reviews)

Hearts beating in cyberspace
It was a matter of time. When technology has penetrated so many aspects of or daily life, it wasn't weird that love became an option.
Two strangers that get involved in a relationship through e-mail is the premise of You've Got Mail, the movie that reunites Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. Hanks plays Joe Fox (F-O-X), the owner of a book megastore who comes to destroy the competition in the New York West Side, where Kathleen Kelly (Ryan) has a lovely and small bookstore.
Enemies and rivals, Joe and Kathleen live, without knowing, an anonymous romance through their computer screens. She, although tries to maintain a human and personal touch in her store (which Joe's store lacks) and is skeptic to cultural globalization, can't stand a day without logging into the place where the words of her "dear friend" wait for her.
These two constitute, over e-mail, a more solid relationship than the ones they have in the real world. Kathleen's boyfriend is a columnist opposed to technology and change. Joe shares his life with Patricia, a book editor so hyperkinetic she "makes coffee nervous". But the worst obstacles to J&K relationship are themselves.
This is a very romantic film, a little manipulative and unbelievable, but its ingenuity evokes the feeling of an old movie. Hanks and Ryan are a perfect match, complementing each other beautifully. Talent, charisma and chemistry are a combination used with success by these two actors.
The other leading character is New York City. Director Nora Ephron captures its vibrant rhythms and romantic views in such a subtle way, one can't help but falling in love with the city.
Even admitting that is not perfect, this film is very entertaining, fresh and pleasant; it has a great soundtrack and a script that makes the search for love something delicate, mysterious and irresistible. Who can wait to log in?


One of the best romantic comedies.
Genre: Romantic Comedy

Genre Grade: A+

Final Grade: A

This is my most favorite romantic comedy of all time, for those of you who don't know. Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan have more chemistry on screen than any of their other pairings in movies. The movie might be a remake of a classic, but this version has its own great moments as well. It's just an overall great movie. I highly recommend this movie to anyone who hasn't had the pleasure in seeing it before.

Ryan and Hanks always make for screen magic...
Despite its overly commercial purpose (AOL advertising), You've Got Mail still manages to come off as a quaint and likeable romantic comedy. Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan attempt to replicate the onscreen magic of Sleepless In Seattle, when the pair took the Hollywood box office by storm. You've Got Mail doesn't live up to the standards of Sleepless In Seattle, but it is a good romantic comedy when judged solely on its own merits. Hanks and Ryan both turn in performances which amplify the likeability of their respective characters, and the screenplay - despite some flaws - manages to create a viable plotline that keeps the audience interested. That's why You've Got Mail is a favorite of so many movie lovers...

Kathleen Kelly (Meg Ryan) runs a well-known children's bookstore that's an icon of the community (her grandmother started it years before). However, the sustainability of her business is put into question when a large retail bookstore chain (similar to Borders) opens right across the street. The Fox Books store soon becomes a headache for Kelly as she butts heads with the arrogant and profit-oriented son of its founder, Joe Fox (Tom Hanks). Further disturbed by a stagnant relationship with her boyfriend Frank (Greg Kinnear), Kelly logs online where she strikes up a friendship with an unknown man in the city. Battling life's travails by day, Kelly finds her solace via the emails she trades with this unknown man...

But what Kelly and her arch nemesis Joe Fox don't know is that every time they log onto the web and hear "you've got mail," they're actually corresponding with one another. Without the conflict of the competing business ventures entering into their relationship, the two are a perfect match for each other. When Joe discovers (through one of Kathleen's emails) that the woman he's been contacting is the crazy bookstore owner across the street, his encounters with Kathleen become less confrontational from his end. He develops a strong love for Kathleen, but needs to uncover a method by which he can reveal the secret. When Kathleen's bookstore is driven out of business by the massive discounter Fox Books, Joe fears that revealing his identity will cause him to lose Kathleen forever...

A romantic storyline at its core, You've Got Mail has a few plot flaws that stand out. One is that a major, faceless discount corporation could drive a well-established, well-run small business out of town. Loyal customers, especially for a niche store that sells only a particular type of book, would not be driven away by the opportunity to save three percent on their purchases. Also, the idea that these two could communicate for so long without discovering each other's identity stretches reality. It's not impossible, but for such a central plot point, you would think it could have been done better.

Overall, however, You've Got Mail is Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan putting forth their best. Each has a unique screen presence that attracts the opposite sex, keeping the film out of the realm of 'chick flick' and more in a category where everyone can equally enjoy the film. You've Got Mail, although a cliché of the bygone dot com era, is still a highly entertaining and interesting film. The cast manages to save the screenwriter, and Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan utilize their mass appeal to make You've Got Mail a definite must-see movie...

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