Despite its overly commercial purpose (AOL advertising), You've Got Mail still manages to come off as a quaint and likeable romantic comedy. Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan attempt to replicate the onscreen magic of Sleepless In Seattle, when the pair took the Hollywood box office by storm. You've Got Mail doesn't live up to the standards of Sleepless In Seattle, but it is a good romantic comedy when judged solely on its own merits. Hanks and Ryan both turn in performances which amplify the likeability of their respective characters, and the screenplay - despite some flaws - manages to create a viable plotline that keeps the audience interested. That's why You've Got Mail is a favorite of so many movie lovers...

Kathleen Kelly (Meg Ryan) runs a well-known children's bookstore that's an icon of the community (her grandmother started it years before). However, the sustainability of her business is put into question when a large retail bookstore chain (similar to Borders) opens right across the street. The Fox Books store soon becomes a headache for Kelly as she butts heads with the arrogant and profit-oriented son of its founder, Joe Fox (Tom Hanks). Further disturbed by a stagnant relationship with her boyfriend Frank (Greg Kinnear), Kelly logs online where she strikes up a friendship with an unknown man in the city. Battling life's travails by day, Kelly finds her solace via the emails she trades with this unknown man...

But what Kelly and her arch nemesis Joe Fox don't know is that every time they log onto the web and hear "you've got mail," they're actually corresponding with one another. Without the conflict of the competing business ventures entering into their relationship, the two are a perfect match for each other. When Joe discovers (through one of Kathleen's emails) that the woman he's been contacting is the crazy bookstore owner across the street, his encounters with Kathleen become less confrontational from his end. He develops a strong love for Kathleen, but needs to uncover a method by which he can reveal the secret. When Kathleen's bookstore is driven out of business by the massive discounter Fox Books, Joe fears that revealing his identity will cause him to lose Kathleen forever...

A romantic storyline at its core, You've Got Mail has a few plot flaws that stand out. One is that a major, faceless discount corporation could drive a well-established, well-run small business out of town. Loyal customers, especially for a niche store that sells only a particular type of book, would not be driven away by the opportunity to save three percent on their purchases. Also, the idea that these two could communicate for so long without discovering each other's identity stretches reality. It's not impossible, but for such a central plot point, you would think it could have been done better.

Overall, however, You've Got Mail is Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan putting forth their best. Each has a unique screen presence that attracts the opposite sex, keeping the film out of the realm of 'chick flick' and more in a category where everyone can equally enjoy the film. You've Got Mail, although a cliché of the bygone dot com era, is still a highly entertaining and interesting film. The cast manages to save the screenwriter, and Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan utilize their mass appeal to make You've Got Mail a definite must-see movie...

The DVD Report

An outstanding romantic comedy, You've Got Mail, brings to the screen the love story between two bookstore owners: one of a large chain of book superstores and the other of a local children's store. Things are not that easy, however, for the two, since the former is to a great extent responsible for putting the latter out of business...
It is a film about human relations, hope and second chances, but most importantly about trust, love, and inner strength.
Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan, and the rest of the cast, have truly outdone themselves with their performances, which are exceptional to say the least! All the actors, without exceptions, give it their 100% and it really shows (the chemistry is AMAZING)! Very well written and very well presented, the movie is without a doubt guaranteed to provide more than just a few laughs, not to mention a few tears. The film is simple enough, but does a great job of describing people's every day lives and the problems they face. It just goes to show that simplicity is often far better than complexity, when trying to present issues of a human nature.
The setting, the plot, the dialogues, the humor, and the music are all wonderful!
In short, You've Got Mail is a movie worth watching and even though it is not quite as good as Sleepless in Seattle, it is definitely a keeper! 4½ Stars

This movie is about two bookshop owners, Kathleen Kelly (Meg Ryan), whose store, The Shop Around the Corner, is a small family business and Joe Fox (Tom Hanks) whose family owns the chain of big, modern Fox Books bookstores. Kathleen's store is losing business to Fox Books, and is in danger of closing down. Kathleen is feeling very hostile toward the owner, Joe Fox, but what she doesn't know is that Joe is the nice, funny guy she's been emailing back and forth with since the two met in a chatroom. Joe, after meeting Kathleen (but not knowing he's been emailing her) describes Kathleen as "a pill" to a friend and co-worker. Joe has no idea that Kathleen is the sweet, charming woman he's been emailing.
The plot of this movie was clever and funny, and this was an enjoyable movie to watch. You've Got Mail is a sweet, light movie that's full of heart and is funny without trying too hard.

Much like its predecessor, Sleepless In Seattle, You've Got Mail is one of the movies that can be watched time & time again, and you'll never tire of it - except for Parker Posey's rather annoying performance. Also look out for Heather Burns, who was also in Miss Congeniality, as "Cheryl Frasier, Miss Rhode Island". This is the third time that Meg and Tom have acted together, the previous two being: Joe Versus the Volcano and Sleepless in Seattle. I definitely think they should act together again, although what with Meg's very frozen look, and trout pout lips, it might be a little hard.

The movie's predictable at best, but a wonderful, "modem" love story, based around strangers emailing each other, and never telling each other personal details. This is a terrific way of bringing the rom-com into the 21st century, although the email gets left to one side from about halfway through the movie.

Joe Fox's grandfather mentions that long ago, he briefly shared a pen pal romance with the store's previous owner, Cecilia Kelly (Kathleen's mother), and that they only communicated through letters. This may have been a reference to the movie's predecessor, The Shop Around The Corner, starring James Stewart and Margaret Sullavan.

Joe misquotes The Godfather: When Joe Fox and Kathleen Kelly first meet at the cocktail party, Joe says, "I didn't know who you were with," quoting the movie producer Jack Woltz. The actual line is, "Why didn't you tell me you were with the Corelone family?" The scene where Joe accidentally closes the door of Kathleen's shop on the balloons was unscripted. Tom Hanks actually did that, and adlibbed the line, "Good thing it wasn't the fish." The director thought it was so funny that she kept it in.

A lot of the supporting cast completely vanish in the last quarter of the movie, and it's such a shame, it would have been nice to bring them back for the final scenes. I also did not like Meg Ryan's hair, it's much too harsh at times. She isn't as great as she was in Sleepless In Seattle, which is a shame, as it brings the movie down a bit, and leaves Tom struggling.

Sure romantic comedies aren't everybody's cup of tea (and boy, do I know that), but I certainly recommend you getting this if your girlfriend/best friend/mum/dad/sister/perhaps even boyfriend might like this. It's well worth seeing. Maybe make it a double feature with plenty of popcorn with Sleepless In Seattle.

Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks shine in this romantic comedy. This is the second time this duo have performed together (Sleepless in Seattle). Perhaps that helps create the smooth natural tone of the interactions between the two. Ryan plays a bookstore shop owner...a tiny little store first run by her mother. Hanks company is building a huge bookstore chain in the same neighborhood. The two cannot stand each other. Besides their business lives, the two are both chatting with an interesting person through the internet and believe they are falling in love with the person. Little do they know, it is really each other! Will they meet? And if they do, will they fall in love or be shocked and disturbed? Watch the movie to find out what happens!