You've Got Mail Review
by DeWyNGaLe (dewyngale AT aol DOT com)March 18th, 1999
YOU'VE GOT MAIL by DeWyNGaLe * * *
Meg Ryan is Kathleen Kelly, the owner of the cute children's book store, Shop Around The Corner. It is a business that has been going on for years, and was previously owned by her mother. Kathleen is a sweet, funny, nice type of person who loves kids. One of her favorite things to do is log on to American Online. Her screen name is ShopGirl. She chats with someone named NY152 every day, and they are the greatest of friends. They don't go into specifics, but they just have a simple friendship. But now, The Shop Around The Corner is having a problem. A store called Fox Books has moved in right across the street! It is owned by Joe Fox. (Tom Hanks) This store is huge, with many floors of books and magazines. Their goal is to put every bookstore in New York City out of business.
Joe Fox also loves American Online. There, he chats with a girl named ShopGirl. They are the best of friends but they don't take their friendship into specifics. He knows nothing about her. His screen name is NY152. He meets Kathleen Kelly at The Shop Around The Corner when he is trying to buy out their inventory of books that Fox Books doesn't have. He simply states his name is Joe. They continue to meet around the city and she discovers that he is Joe Fox, the man that is going to put her out of business. The two of them still don't know that they are in love on America Online. They fight and fight and fight whenever they see each other. These arguments are quite humourous.
NY152 asks ShopGirl if they should meet. They plan to meet at the Coffee Shop. ShopGirl is waiting and waiting at a table with a present for NY152. When NY152 discovers that ShopGirl is Kathleen Kelly, he freaks out, for he is Joe Fox. He enters the coffee shop not telling her who he is. He simply sits down and annoys her to death. He doesn't mean to, but she takes it that way. Now that he knows that they are actually perfect for each other, he is extra nice to her. The next day he brings her flowers and stays in her apartment and chats with her for awhile. Eventually, he asks ShopGirl to meet again over America Online. They do, and they discover that they were in love the entire time. Kathleen simply states "I wanted it to be you."
You've Got Mail is a nice, cute movie with some good laughs. Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan are so wonderful together. Both did great jobs of acting. You've Got Mail shows that sometimes if you look beyond the business in people, they may be just right for you. Although at some points in the movie, it seemed a little slow, the overall product was great. Warner Brothers is out of the slump and definitely has a hit. America Online is supporting this movie a great deal. They even have a feature where you can E-Mail Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan under their screen names in the movie. Parker Posey, Dave Chapelle, and Greg Kinnear also have smaller supporting rolls. Parker Posey plays Joe's girlfriend, Dave Chapelle plays his friend, and Greg Kinnear plays Kathleen's boyfriend. The bottom line: Not Oscar Material, but a wonderful movie for all of you AOL lovers out there.
Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
