YOU'VE GOT MAIL
In what is essentially a reworking of Ephron's Sleepless In Seattle,
the couple again play two strangers who turn out to be ideal mates even
though (they think) they have never met in person. Ryan is Kathleen Kelly,
owner of a well-known New York children's book store called The Shop Around
The Corner. It has been in existence for over 40 years, first operated by
Kathleen's mother who made it famous for its excellent service and knowledge
of the product. Hanks plays Joe Fox, the owner and heir of the Fox Books
Superstore chain, a sort of Wal-Mart for books. They carry a huge selection
which they sell at discount prices, and they even offer cappuccino and sweets,
but the staff is made up of kids who wouldn't know a good author if it bit
them in the Asimov.
When Joe's company opens a store across from Kathleen's shop, the two
meet and, not surprisingly, a mutually icy relationship develops. But what
they don't realize is that they have been "dating" for months
via electronic mail. Having made an agreement not to reveal any specifics
about themselves, the two have become best friends (though they're both
in ill-suited relationships), waiting anxiously each day to hear their computers
utter the robotic title phrase. Kathleen even seeks her online buddy's advice
about her current predicament. Joe tells her to go to war. So she does —
with him.
Although Hanks and Ryan are both good actors and portray a comfortable
"friend" relationship, the romantic chemistry between them is
lacking. The film's magic moment (when Kathleen discovers Joe's identity)
is touching, especially on Ryan's part, but somehow anticlimactic. This
could be because it is not really a mutual surprise: Joe already knows,
from early in the film, that his Internet lover and his bitter competition
are one and the same. This weakens the potential impact of the revelation
— one spends much of the film wondering why he doesn't fess up sooner.
Ryan is good at being a woman in love, but not really believable as a
bookseller. Her lines imply that she is a mature, well-read intellectual,
but her flighty manner makes it seem impossible for her to make it through
anything more complex than Green Eggs And Ham. And Hanks is Hanks,
virtually indistinguishable from his character in Sleepless. He doesn't
have to worry, though; he's got the Best Actor nomination already in his
pocket for Saving Private Ryan.
The one who almost steals the show here is Greg Kinnear, who was nominated
last year for his supporting role in As
Good As It Gets. Playing Kathleen's boyfriend, a cynical newspaper
columnist who hates computer technology and how it has de-personalized the
world, he expounds on the evils of Joe's company and its ilk. His part allows
Ephron to add her voice to the growing groundswell of antipathy for mega-discount
stores in this country.
You've Got Mail is probably not as engaging as Sleepless, with which it will inevitably be compared, but it has its moments. ***½