Vous avez un mess@ge

I recently watched the 1940 "Shop Around the Corner" with Jimmy Stewart for the first time. In explaining a synopsis to my wife she said, "That sounds like the same story in 'You've Got Mail.'" So I did my research and found out she was right. Further, I realized I had never watched this 1998 movie. So here we are, I found the DVD at my public library.

The DVD "extra" is also interesting, the sisters Ephron explain their approach and Hanks and Ryan pitch in also. This is a thoroughly entertaining movie.

While it follows the same general story it is updated for the modern world. Not only is it moved from Budapest to New York, it uses the modern writing technique of email. It also uses the concept of a bigger store coming in and undercutting the smaller, long-established business.

Meg Ryan is Kathleen Kelly, owner of a smaller shop, called Shop Around the Corner, specializing in children's books. Her mother was the original owner. Tom Hanks is Joe Fox of the wealthy Fox family, opening a mega bookstore around the corner from her. They meet, they develop a pretty quick dislike for each other. Unknown to both of them, they had already become email pals with very high regard for each other.

So much of this movie plays out in similar ways to the 1940 movie, it is interesting and entertaining to see how it all plays out to the end.

"Don't you love New York in the fall? Makes me want to buy school supplies. I would send you a freshly sharpened bouquet of pencils if I knew your name and address."-NY152

The sweet seduction of a well written letter! The waiting, the anticipation...the delayed gratification.

"Dear friend. I like to pretend that we are the oldest and dearest of friends...I turn on my computer, I wait impatiently as it connects, I go online, and my breath catches in my chest until I hear three little words...'you've got mail'. I hear nothing not even a sound on the streets of New York, just the beating of my heart. I've got mail...from you"-ShopGirl

This is a modern retelling of the classic James Stewart film Shop Around the Corner (which if you have never seen it...you definitely should! It is set at Christmas time, so it makes a wonderful Christmas film.). You've got Mail even does a nice hat tip to the original film by naming the little all children's bookstore 'shop around the corner'.

The modern story is about Kathleen Kelly who owns a small neighborhood children's bookstore on the west side in New York. She met someone in a chat room, when the Internet was new and starts a great series of conversations with a stranger NY152. Meanwhile a big chain box store "Fox Books" is being built across the street. Kathleen ends up meeting Joe Fox...not knowing he's the Fox books Fox or her secret pen pal.

"We are going to seduce them. We are going to seduce them with our square footage, and our discounts, and our deep arm chairs and our cappuccino. They are going to hate us at the beginning but we are going to get 'em in the end. And do you know why? Because we are going to sell them cheep books and legal addictive stimulants. In the meantime we will just put up a big sign 'coming soon a Fox Book Superstore The end of civilization as you know it.'"-Joe Fox.

Lots of comedy and great conversations ensue...including a discussion about Pride and Prejudice, Kathleen's favorite book.

This is a great love story and almost as wonderful as the original...except this one has the sad tragedy of a David and Goliath story. Although, I wonder how those big box stores now feel about Amazon putting them out of business?

Beautiful film from the age of When Harry Met Sally and Sleepless in Seattle. Romantics will love this rom-com and I highly recommend...the topped the wonderful soundtrack filled with Harry Nilsson, Randy Newman and Roy Orbison.

This movie was so much better than I expected, which was a simple romantic comedy with predictable "pass each other in the street" scenarios throughout. I was pleasantly surprised to find a love story that touched my heart. Kathleen's vulnerability and pride in her mother made me cry and Joe's sensitivity and devious behavior were so very sweet.

I didn't think that Tom Hanks & Meg Ryan could pull off a romance better than they did in Sleepless In Seattle but I am happy to be mistaken.

God only knows why it's taken me so long to see this. But God I wanted it to be this kind of movies. I wanted it to be this kind of movies so badly.

(8/10)

This was an all right movie, but can I make just one little observation? If the movie is trying to make a social statement about big book chains with no personality (like Hank's Fox Books) greedily driving the little stores with charm (like Ryan's Shop around the Corner) out of business, how is it that the filmmakers chose to put every other scene in a Starbucks? Starbucks has undoubtedly forced more little shops out of business that any big book chain has.

This doesn't mean that it's not an enjoyabe movie. But it takes something away from Meg's righteous indignation when she woefully closes the bookstore and then goes to suck down a Mochacino.