You've Got Mail (1998)

Purely Joyful Movie!

Best movie ever!

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Although Meg Ryan continued her consistent character and performance style in the film, she is still one of the few highlights of the film. The concept of the change of the old and new bookstores is very good, but the film has not been able to stick to the main line of conflict. Therefore, the old storyline occupies most of the film's time. In the delay of various insignificant secondary plots, the ending of the story has long lost its suspense.

A woman's book store for children is threatened by a big book supermarket which offers greater variety and discounts so she asks for help from her online friend, whom she speaks via mail. She gains his trust and begins fighting for her beloved shop but it's going to be a big struggle which seems to have no hope. To add more pain in the equation, her virtual friend is going to provide a couple of unexpected surprises which she will have to face as life becomes harder and harder. It's a romantic comedy which features a warm but also sad atmosphere in which the main characters face their struggles. It has emotion, drama and happiness but the very predictable and simple finale spoils the overall experience. Still, it's a very good and enjoyable movie to watch with your family.

Sorry can't get my head around this slow, sloppy female chic flick film. Maybe it's because 20 years on I'm an adult woman now and need something less pathetic. It's my first experience of a Nora Ephron film and will be very beneficial when searching for an answer on a quiz program.If you want program OK but I did not make a spelling mistake.!

'You've Got Mail' is one of those films that's grown on me over the years through repeat viewings, perhaps as the idea of falling in love online has really taken hold. Now, with the likes of match.com, OK Cupid, Tinder, Plenty Of Fish (to name but a few) firmly in our midst, it is no longer so unusual to meet – and indeed be unfaithful with – someone online. But 'You've Got Mail' was there at the very start in what we perceive – perhaps with some accuracy - to be more innocent times when the idea of email and the internet was still a novelty and thus far undiscovered by the weirdos, creeps and jerks! Ah, those were the days.The film's central concept is simple enough. Thirtysomethings Kathleen Kelly (Meg Ryan) and Joe Fox (Tom Hanks) both work in the book business and both feel that there is something missing from their long term relationships with other people (Greg Kinnear for her, Parker Posey for him). The film opens in media res with what has clearly become a daily routine over the past few weeks of Kathleen and Joe covertly sending friendly and flirty emails to each other after their respective partners have left for work. From the opening scene, the audience discovers that Joe's 'NY152' and Kathleen's 'Shopgirl' 'met' in an online chatroom some weeks prior, and that up to this point neither knows the other's real life name or identity, both acknowledging that they have so far been careful not to reveal personal details (although it is not clear why this is). What is clear is that they have started to form an emotional attachment. Kathleen runs a small independent children's bookshop that her mother left her and has a large following of regular customers, while Joe co-runs his family's business 'Fox Books', a large US-wide chain of bookstores. Joe is about to open a large 'Fox Books' store round the corner from Kathleen's bookshop, threatening its survival. Joe also happens to meet Kathleen by accident when he visits her shop with his young relatives and is charmed by her, although he is careful to conceal who he really is, while Kathleen also feels a spark for him. She later learns his true identity when they bump into each other at a party and any initial attraction they felt goes out of the window as the two begin to bicker as Kathleen begins to realise the potential threat that Joe's big conglomerate poses, while Joe belittles and demeans her. And so forms the pattern of their relationship during the film as they continue to clash in real life while their online relationship goes from strength to strength as each remains ignorant of the other's identity.The first time I watched this, I found it frustrating that Kathleen could be so naïve and know so little about her business so as not to realise at first just what a big a risk the 'Fox Books' store poses to her. Her naivety is meant to be part of her charm and what contrasts her with Parker Posey's more ruthless and cut-throat Patricia but it doesn't even occur to her to start to look around for new premises. If she'd acted more quickly – or even at all – she could have just been looking at relocation rather than closing. I found it equally frustrating that after finding out that Kathleen and 'Shopgirl' are one and the same, Joe doesn't reveal himself to her straightaway (although having now seen the film a few more times I don't think Kathleen would have run straight into his arms). Even so, the whole last half hour of the film as Joe works to befriend Kathleen before the 'big reveal' was too drawn out.'You've Got Mail' is an undemanding film that follows the rom-com formula almost to the letter and while it won't win any prizes for originality (both Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan could play these roles backwards), there's enough sparkle between the two leads to make this worth a watch and maybe the odd repeat viewing if it's on TV.