YOU'VE GOT MAIL (1998, PG)
Directed by Nora Ephron (Sleepless in Seattle)
Written by Nora Ephron and Delia Ephron (Mixed Nuts)
Starring Tom Hanks (Saving Private Ryan), Meg Ryan (When Harry Met Sally), Parker Posey (Coneheads), Greg Kinnear (As Good as it Gets)
As reviewed by Sridhar Prasad
As I write the review for the new Hanks/Ryan romantic comedy YOU'VE GOT MAIL, I am acutely aware that I am typing it on a computer and sending it a billion miles away on the Internet. I am also aware that I have just spent the last 2 hours watching the world's biggest paid commercial for America Online. And I wonder: is that so bad? Well, the commercial part is. As for the movie, well, as long as I can watch Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, I think I'll be okay.
To paraphrase James Berardinelli, whose reviews I admire very much, Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan can act. They are both wonderful, but for all of Hanks' glorious work in serious films, such as his magnificent performance in SAVING PRIVATE RYAN, and his glorious triumph in PHILADELPHIA, I like him best when he's suitably obnoxious. Tom Hanks is wonderful when he is obnoxious in a romantic comedy when he's going to get the girl: the only question is how?
Meg Ryan, America's high school sweetheart, can act. She's had a handful of memorable performances, including the great scene in the diner in WHEN HARRY MET SALLY ( I must not mention what she does, due to the, well, um, you get the idea, and if you don't, get the movie-- fantastic). But, I like her best when she's, well, perky. She is so adorably perky/cute that together with Hanks, they are the most amazing onscreen duo in my short lifetime. Some people have them going back to really old classic romantic couples, but I don't really know. All I know is that I just like them both. They have such wonderfully kinetic chemistry that's really hard to resist, and I'm not going to even try. They're just really, really cute, sweet, and charming.
Hanks and Ryan collaborate once again with Nora Ephron, who directed them in the megahit SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE. Here, the setup is a little different. Kathleen Kelly (Ryan) owns a small children's bookstore which her mother founded 42 years ago and passed down to her. She is successful, beautiful, and dates a well-known columnist with very radical idea (Kinnear). She is also having an affair, of sorts. You see, Kathleen, with the handle SHOPGIRL, is secretly emailing NY152. They have a strictly un-detailed relationship: there are no specifics, and they have no idea who each other is.
NY152 happens to be Joe Fox (Hanks), a multimillionaire bookseller who is the heir to the fortune of the Fox chain of mega-bookstores, run by his father (Coleman). Fox Books has decided to open a store on the West Side, right across from a little children's bookseller named "Shop Around the Corner", run by a perky girl named Kathleen Kelly. Every morning, these two email each other silly, and every day, they fight "to the death!!". It's a charming premise, and one that works nicely, balancing the immense troubles Kathleen is in with the romance she wants to have. It also has the great sense of being a classic romance: there is no "let's have sex tonight" mantra, if you'll excuse my bluntness. This is a solid romance built around that vague concept of love. Hmm. Well, the movie goes through twists and turns, having some sad moments and happy ones, until at one moment Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan "hook up", to use modern terminology, and kiss their way into happiness.
You know it's going to happen, the question is now? Thankfully, Ephron has a wonderful supporting cast with Posey, Kinnear, Chappelle, and a host of others, including a great scene involving brothers, aunts, and two sweet kids. It's all cute and wonderful, and for all of the idealism, it makes me feel good. Hanks is as obnoxious as ever on the outside and as warm on the inside as he always is. He is, I believe, America's greatest actor. Does he show it here? Nah. But he's still Tom Hanks, and she's still Meg Ryan.
Which is what this movie boils down to. It's pure confection. All the bits about THE GODFATHER, the jokes, the superb script, it's all really sweet. There are some immense flaws, like pacing. The last third of the movie really doesn't work as well as I would have liked, and for a romantic comedy, it's slow. Once Hanks knows the secret, it gets really slow. I even looked at my watch a couple times, to make sure Ephron was going to deliver the big onscreen kiss I was waiting for, so that I could get home at a reasonable hour. The other problem is that this movie is shaping up to be really dated. E-mail? When my kids are my age, I don't know what we'll be using. But Hanks can do more with one eyeroll than anybody, and Meg Ryan just loves to dive into a pillow better than anyone in movie history. They just work together, and it's nice to see. It gives you, well, a smile. The script helps with some great lines that are absolutely hilarious, and that always come at the exact right time to keep the audience awake.
I was arguing with my father on the drive back home on what the purpose of movies was. I've always believed that movies are very powerful, very powerful indeed. You see, mankind has three abilities he needs to survive: the ability to think, entertain, and procreate. Movies can definitely do the first two, and as for the third, well, I'd rather not think about that. I always thought films that made you think enlightened you and made you see something from another viewpoint, and that films that entertained you were good, because you forgot about your troubles and thought about something nice for a night. And I was thinking about how incredible a year Tom Hanks has had. Hanks was the driving force behind one of the year's best films in SAVING PRIVATE RYAN, which is one of those thinking films that truly made someone wonder about the world. He's also half of the glue behind the year's best example of pure entertainment. Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan are magical, as is this movie. It's a sweet, lovely affair with a technology twist. It may be a long commercial, but it gave me a pretty big smile on my face.
RATING: *** out of ****
Movie Reviews by Sridhar Prasad
Movie Reviews starting with "Y"
James Brundage's review of You've Got Mail
Berge Garabedian's Review of You've Got Mail
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Sridhar Prasad's Review of Forrest Gump
James Brundage's Review of Saving Private Ryan
Scott Nowlin's Review of Saving Private Ryan
Sridhar's Prasad's Review of Saving Private Ryan
James Brundage's Review of That Thing You Do
Meg Ryan:
Berge Garbedian's Review of City of Angels
Greg Kinnear: