Movie review: ‘You’ve Got Mail’

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The once so-called “chick flicks” were haunted by typically accurate “v” words such as “vacant” or “vapid” and you can also toss in “stupid,” “an insult to human intelligence” and “caters to and is cheered by the ignorant.” Today, they’re just romance-comedies and, despite their stereotype, I have to admit that one of the guilty pleasures of whatever you want to call the genre is the simply sensational “You’ve Got Mail.” Both Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan give sterling performances in “You’ve Got Mail” and, although there are flaws, you’d have to be a Scrooge to point even one out. “You’ve Got Mail” stands out as a beacon of entertainment light in a dreary darkness of stupidity. If you haven’t seen “You’ve Got Mail” in for some time, treat yourself again. You won’t be disappointed.

‘You’ve Got Mail’
(1998; 119 minutes; rated PG; directed by Nora Ephron and starring Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan and Parker Posey)

YOU’VE GOT A GREAT MOVIE

(NOTE: I expanded this review on Jan. 11, 2017, with additional opinion, some more trivia and the updating of links. I again expanded the review on Jan. 25, 2020. I again expanded the review on March 18, 2023.)

It’s a formula that so many movies attempt, but then fail miserably to accomplish: You have a male star be the man just about every man wants to be and have a female star that just about every woman wants to be. So goes the film “You’ve Got Mail,” in which Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan find themselves and each other and it doesn’t come off as complete saccharine schmaltz in the swill that defines most of the romance-comedy genre.

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Hanks flirts at the edge of being too perfect and uptight, but manages to be a boy who’s fun and has fun with the guys, but who also is a hit with most women. Ryan is the girl who is bright, bustling with energy and naïve. She makes sure these are endearing traits, not annoying ones, and they make her attractive to most boys.

In “You’ve Got Mail,” both run businesses at the opposite end of the book trade. Hanks is “Joe Fox,” who is the heir to a Barnes & Noble-like chain of book discounters, while Ryan as “Kathleen Kelly” is the owner of a small independent bookstore (the “Shop Around the Corner”) about to fall under the “Fox Books” steamroller. Note that the link is to a 1940 romantic comedy of that name.

Unknown by each, they are anonymous pen pals on AOL and are actually so simpatico that they get an emotional thrill just to hear that company’s signature “You’ve Got Mail” voice when they launch AOL on their computers. BTW, are you old enough to remember when AOL ruled online, much less when Internet was ruled by AOL and dial-up access?

It doesn’t take a movie scientist to know that they clash in business (and face-to-face at a party) and Hanks is the first to discover the identity of the previously unidentified email pals, but there’s wonderful filmmaking (one of the usually bland and tepid Nora Ephron’s two good directing efforts) here and it’s guided to the feel-good ending everyone expects, deserves and gets.

Here’s a look at some of the principal cast:

  • As I already wrote, Hanks is suave, smooth and funny while still being one of the smartest guys in any room (he’d never stand for hearing “the smartest” since he’s not that kind of guy). A two-time Oscar winner and four-time nominee (not for this one), Hanks, who was equally good in “Sleepless in Seattle” with an equally good Ryan (Ephron’s only other solid directing effort), does with perfect pitch the near-impossible balance of timing and delivery of each of his lines — he eats the caviar garnish at a literary party and that’s not something that Schwarzenegger or Stallone could pull off. Hanks was also in the cult raunchy comedy classic “Bachelor Party” (click here for my review), the dark comedy “Punchline” and airy comedy “Splash” (click here for my review) to name three of his lesser-known films. He won for his dramatic effort in “Philadelphia” and also for the piece of overrated garbage called “Forrest Gump.” His nominations are for obviously excellent work: “Big,” “Saving Private Ryan” (click here for my look at the film), “Cast Away” and the latest in 2020 with “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood.”
  • A three-time Golden Globe nominee (yes, one of the three for this one), Ryan goes beyond perky to be intelligent, deep and just plain fun as she first spars with Hanks and then tries to reject her attraction for him. She’s everything every guy in the theater would admire. Ryan shows that there’s strength as the foundation to a positive outlook and she can be practical and businesslike as the situation warrants. Ryan was also in “Innerspace” (click here for my review), “When Harry Met Sally…” and she was quietly outstanding in her underrated effort in “The Presidio” with Mark Harmon and Sean Connery (click here for my review). Along with her Globe nomination for this one, she was nominated for the two “chick flicks” that don’t measure up to “You’ve Got Mail:” “Sleepless in Seattle” and “When Harry Met Sally.”
  • The snappiest supporting cast member is Parker Posey as “Patricia Eden,” who is Hanks’ girlfriend at the start of the film. A Golden Globe nominee (not for this one), Posey brings a bustling, aggressive and opinionated style to the screen and she nearly shivers with energy if she takes pause for even a moment. Posey does almost as much with this small role as she did co-starring with Danny DeVito in the little-known and simply wonderful “The Oh in Ohio.” She has also been in “A Mighty Wind” and “Best in Show.” She earned her nomination for “Hell on Wheels: The Battle of Mary Kay.”
  • Lost in “You’ve Got Mail” are Dave Chappelle as “Kevin Jackson,” who is Hanks’ friend and subordinate, and Greg Kinnear as “Frank Navansky,” who is a writer and Ryan’s boyfriend at the start. Both roles are small and, although Kinnear has a funny scene while being interviewed on TV, they don’t get the screen time they deserve – especially Chappelle as Kinnear gets a better slice. For example, Chappelle’s character drops out of the picture too quickly after being in a key scene in the middle of the film. Chappelle has been in “Half Baked” and had his own-named TV show, while Kinnear is good in “Fast Food Nation,” just OK in the remake “Bad News Bears” (click here for my review). Kinnear is suitably creepy playing the late (and very troubled) TV star Bob Crane in “Auto Focus.”
  • By far the most effective supporting actor is Jean Stapleton, who plays “Birdie Conrad,” who is Ryan’s bookkeeper and best friend to her late mother. Stapleton is smooth, supportive and the voice of reality here in her best work since you heard her say, “Archie!” in TV’s legendary “All in the Family.” Stapleton died at 90 in 2013.
  • Somewhat underused is Dabney Coleman as “Nelson Fox,” who is Hanks’ father in this one. Coleman has crafted a career of impressive supporting roles from “Nine to Five” (click here for my review) to most recently TV’s “Boardwalk Empire.” Coleman, like Stapleton, is smooth but one tiny flaw here is that filmmakers could have done more with his character and his straying young wife. Coleman has also been in “WarGames” (click here for my review) and big-screen reboot of “The Beverly Hillbillies.”
  • Finally, the two other “Shop Around the Corner” employees are the wonderful and quirky Steve Zahn as “George Pappas” and the smooth and quiet Heather Burns as “Christina Plutzker.” The trouble is that there isn’t enough screen time in the whole film to give them any chance to be really effective. Zahn has been in “Saving Silverman” and “Dallas Buyers Club” while Burns has been in “Miss Congeniality” and “Two Weeks Notice.”

Say what you want about the once so-called “chick flicks,” but this one is better than “Sleepless in Seattle,” which was nominated for two Oscars. Do yourself a favor and watch “You’ve Got Mail” if you already haven’t (maybe you got a bad review) or again if you have. Enjoy!

“You’ve Got Mail” was the 14th ranked movie at the U.S. box office in 1998 with $115.8 million in receipts, according to Box Office Mojo. Ultimately worldwide, “You’ve Got Mail” would make $250.8 million on its $65 million budget, according to Wiki. Although there were far superior films (“Saving Private Ryan” was No. 1 with $216.5 million and of course starred Hanks); there were far funnier films (“There’s Something About Mary” was No. 3 with $176.4 million) and there was a great animated film (Disney’s “Mulan” was No. 13 with $120.6 million), but there were no more endearing films than “You’ve Got Mail.”

Here are the films from 1998 that I’ve reviewed:

Assorted cast notes (via IMDb.com):

  • John Randolph, who plays Hanks’ grandfather “Schuyler Fox,” did a good octogenarian in this one, but he was better as Chevy Chase’s father in “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” (click here for my review). He also was in “Serpico” and “Prizzi’s Honor” (click here for my review).
  • Directly from IMDb.com: “Joe Fox (Tom Hanks) is obsessed with The Godfather (1972), and frequently uses dialogue from it to shape his philosophy on life. In the Coppola Restoration Godfather DVDs, Alec Baldwin claims that Hanks and Rob Reiner are both Godfather aficionados, and have hosted viewing parties where the attendees play drinking games and quote famous lines while watching the film.”
  • Meg Ryan reportedly got her first computer as she prepared for this film.
  • Hallee Hirsh and Jeffrey Scaperrotta as “Annabell Fox” and “Matt Fox,” who are Hanks’ sister (although she’s only about 10) and uncle (his grandfather’s son about age 4) take being “cute” to a new level.
  • Directly from IMDb.com: “Both Kathleen and Joe used AOL software to connect to the Internet. They were both using version 4.0 which was in beta testing mode when the film was being made.”
  • Finally and directly from IMDb.com: “First film allowed to be filmed inside the classic grocery store on Broadway and West 80th Street – Zabar.”
  • Nick Castle was reportedly the original director before Nora Ephron took over. I can’t argue that Ephron’s work is great, but it would have been nice if just about any other director had accomplished it. I’m not a big fan of Ephron (as you might deduce from this review).

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