You've Got Mail -- a *little* film from 1998 that grossed over $100 million dollars domestically, and which stars Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan performing dialogue written by Nora Ephron -- is one of my most favorite things. "Why?" -- You
YGM retells the story originally depicted in Shop Around the Corner from 1940 and which stars James Stewart and Margaret Sullavan, in which two characters who can't stand each other in real life unknowingly fall in love through anonymous correspondence.
In YGM, snail mail becomes dial-up e-mail, chat rooms, and instant messaging. Super advanced technology! What I love most about this film is that it is a time capsule, in every sense of the term. It's a pre-9/11 world -- before MySpace (NEVER FORGET), before the Kardashians, before Two Girls One Cup. It's a world in which people at coffee shops either read or talked to one another without their iPhones on the table waiting to interrupt them.
YGM's Manhattan is the kind of Manhattan you don't just want to live in, but feel you must live in. It's the kind of characterization of the city that reminds me of Woody Allen's New York so wonderfully portrayed in Annie Hall and, well, Manhattan.
As I said before, YGM stars Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan's old face (plus or minus new lips). "Could Tom and Meg BE any more perfect for one another" -- Bandler Ching
Co-stars include Parker Posey, Heather Burns, Dabney Coleman, and THIS GUY:
That would be DAVE CHAPPELLE, people.
There are lots of cozy fall and winter knits, hot drinks, and Meg Ryan's character reads from Boy, written by my all-time favorite children's book author Roald Dahl
Lastly, in addition to all the witty white people jokes, white people music, and white people interior decorating, there are some adorable scenes of Tom Hanks playing with kids that are among some of my favorite to watch.
Now you know why I adore this movie. I hope you'll all give it a chance and let it into your hearts just a little before you die and go to wherever it is you think you go afterward.
Oh, Cakey!
ReplyDeleteYay! Great post. I watched it in full yesterday.
ReplyDeleteNo - no words. No words to describe it. Poetry! They should've sent a poet. So beautiful. So beautiful... I had no idea.
ReplyDeleteOne thing about this movie that I could never tolerate was how Meg Ryan (and pretty much every other character in the movie that wasn't Tom Hanks?) is constantly berating Tom Hanks for sucking the blood of the small business owner, and for destroying their perfect New York community of independent entrepreneurs and good guys just trying to make it in the world, all while STANDING IN LINE AT A STARBUCKS. Like, there are at least a couple scenes that explicitly show Meg Ryan at Starbucks, or otherwise taking advantage of the convenience of large corporate institutions over viably independent alternatives.
ReplyDeleteBuck the system! But not until I get my venti non-fat double soy iced mocha latte you do NOT want to see me before I've had my coffee in the morning!
Also the scene where Tom Hanks is a condescending asshole to the cashier who won't let Meg Ryan use her credit card and then is REWARDED for it makes me lose my shit every single time.
Not like I've seen this movie way more than I would ever admit because it's secretly kind of charming or anything.
P Pam, you have a point. You have TWO very good points! That scene with Rose the cashier does creep me out, but I tend to overlook it because of, "...And I'm Henry."
ReplyDeleteDEAL WITH IT.
From a guy's point of view (gender revealed!) I would have to say that this is certainly one of the more enjoyable of the rom-coms. Tom Hanks just seems to make everything better and this is certainly the case with this film. I would really like to see him do more comedy in the future. I might even say that he is that rare actor who is as good at comedy as he is at drama. Bold statement or the boldest statement?
ReplyDelete