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There aren’t many things in this world that are better than snuggling up on the couch with your significant other (or just a comfy blanket), popping open your favorite snack, and indulging in a guilty-pleasure romantic comedy. I actually have an entire shelf in my apartment devoted to chick flicks, and one of my favorites is You’ve Got Mail.
In 1998, the Internet was just beginning to make its way into the households of many Americans. Broadband and DSL connections weren’t even on the horizon yet, email and instant messaging were brand-new to us, and almost everyone dialed up through America Online. It’s in this world where Joe Fox (Tom Hanks) and Kathleen Kelly (Meg Ryan) meet online and begin a friendship.
Thanks to the anonymity of the Internet, they know each other only by their screen names: NY152 (Joe) and ShopGirl (Kathleen). What they don’t know is that they’ve already met—and in real life, they’re each other’s worst enemies. Kathleen owns a small, independent children’s bookstore called Shop Around the Corner, and Joe is part owner of a discount chain bookstore called Fox Books that’s threatening to put Kathleen’s store out of business. They hate each other professionally, but they’re falling in love with each other online without even realizing it.
You’ve Got Mail certainly isn’t the best movie ever made. It’s sappy, it’s predictable, and the plot (at least, the part that centers on Joe and Kathleen’s Internet courtship) is already horribly dated. And at times, it does feel like a 120-minute infomercial for AOL. But…I love it. Tom Hanks is just wonderful in this movie, and Meg Ryan is the perky, cute character she always played in the 80s and 90s. And the supporting cast—including Dave Chappelle, Greg Kinnear, and Heather Burns—really round things out. The jokes and situations are funny, too (particularly a running gag about The Godfather).
Bottom line: this movie is fun. And it doesn’t take itself too seriously. Even with its inherent faults, as far as romantic comedies go, You’ve Got Mail is definitely one of my favorites.
