You've Got Mail (1998)
Directed by Nora Ephron
Written by Nora Ephron and Delia Ephron

As predictable, improbable, and satisfying a romantic comedy as you could want, You've Got Mail is also surprisingly appealing, energetic, and engaging, even though it's superficially about people using computers, which always looks stupid onscreen, and doesn't hold technological water for more than three weeks.

I normally dislike romantic comedies—or avoid them completely—but I really like Tom Hanks, and I like Meg Ryan when she's with Tom Hanks. They have a sweet chemistry together, and although you know they will have to get together, you can't help but root for them.

Basic story is, Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks have been conducting an anonymous e-mail romance on AOL while waging outright war as competing bookstore owners in Manhattan. Hanks owns the giant Fox Books chain, along with his father (Dabney Coleman) and grandfather, while Ryan owns the cutesy, understocked children's store called The Shop Around the Corner, started decades ago by her beloved mother.

The turf war is essentially a gimmick to keep them apart as long as possible, as in Sleepless in Seattle. But You've Got Mail kicks Sleepless' "Seattle" in nearly all respects. Hanks' Joe Fox is a more interesting, less pitiable character, someone not so much noble as just plain normal and conflicted.

And Ryan's character is softer than usual, owing to her affinity for children, books, fuzzy sweaters, etc. It's actually a nice reversal to have Hanks play the semi-curmudgeon and Ryan play the softie, or maybe I've just forgotten Sleepless. (Well, I did black out for most of 1993 … didn't appear to miss much, either.)

Ultimately, the obstacles that keep them apart are slightly more believable than usual, although Hanks' efforts to manipulate Ryan via e-mail are slightly less so. There's a nice sense of history, thanks to Hanks' patriarchs, and Ryan's memories of her mother and how important the store was to her. It doesn't hurt that Dabney Coleman and Jean Stapleton both have appealing supporting roles.

Some of the jokes fall flat, some are telegraphed from Peru, and some of the obligatory attempts to make us like or dislike characters (Tom Hanks taking kids to a carnival, Parker Posey screaming in an elevator) seem forced. Greg Kinnear is less interesting at first, then more so as the film continues. Oddly, several introductory scenes are listless, but the energy picks up by the end (like this review, hopefully, and my fucking life as well).

What it boils down to is, I got more than I expected. I liked the characters, I liked the story, and I just liked the film a lot. I walked out with a curious need to log onto AOL, have a coffee at Starbucks, buy expensive groceries from Zabar's, and spend three thousand dollars at the nearest Barnes & Noble. Isn't that what a good romantic comedy should do?

Review by Crimedog