You’ve Got Mail
Vilma Steiert
You've Got Mail is a 1998 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Nora Ephron, and starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. Inspired by the 1937 Hungarian play Parfumerie by Mikls Lszl (which had earlier been adapted in 1940 as The Shop Around the Corner and in 1949 as In the Good Old Summertime),[3] the screenplay was co-written by Nora and Delia Ephron. It tells the story of two people in an online romance who are unaware they are also business rivals. It marked the third pairing of Hanks and Ryan, who previously appeared together in Joe Versus the Volcano (1990) and Sleepless in Seattle (1993), the latter directed by Ephron. The film takes its name from the greeting AOL users receive when they get a new email.
On Manhattan's Upper West Side, Kathleen Kelly runs The Shop Around the Corner, an independent children's bookstore she inherited from her mother. She is in a relationship with Frank Navasky, a left-leaning columnist for The New York Observer. While Frank is devoted to his typewriter, Kathleen prefers her laptop and using her AOL email account, under the screen name "Shopgirl", to exchange messages with "NY152", whom she first met in a chatroom. As they have agreed not to share specifics about their personal lives, she knows nothing about him other than the name of his dog, Brinkley.
Following an outing with his 11-year-old aunt Annabel and 4-year-old half-brother Matthew, Joe stops at Kathleen's store for a storytime event. Joe and Kathleen meet and have a pleasant conversation, but when she expresses disdain for the new Fox Books store, he withholds his last name and leaves abruptly with the children. Later that week, Kathleen and Joe meet again at a book publishing party, and she learns his true identity. She accuses him of deception and spying, while he belittles her store, earning each other's hostility.
"Shopgirl" writes to "NY152" asking for business advice, and he urges her to fight back. Frank pens a column in support of The Shop Around the Corner that draws widespread attention, leading to talk show appearances, news coverage, and picketing outside Fox Books. Joe is aggravated by the negative publicity, but his father assures him everything will blow over once the new store opens.
"Shopgirl" and "NY152" decide to meet at a caf. Joe is dismayed to find that his penpal is actually his professional nemesis. Initially planning to leave, he changes his mind and joins her at the table without revealing his online identity. They clash once again, and Kathleen cruelly insults him, causing Joe to leave in distress. Later that night, he receives an email from "Shopgirl", sharing that she finally stood up to an unpleasant person but now feels terrible for doing so. "NY152" apologizes for standing her up and assures her anything she said was likely deserved.
Despite efforts to save The Shop Around the Corner, business steadily declines, while the newly opened Fox Books location thrives. Kathleen makes the difficult decision to close. Later, she and Frank amicably end their relationship. Kathleen takes a break to figure out her next move, ultimately taking inspiration from her correspondence with "NY152" to write children's books. Meanwhile, Joe realizes he has feelings for Kathleen and slowly builds a face-to-face relationship with her, still keeping his online identity a secret.
Eventually, "NY152" arranges another meeting with "Shopgirl". Right before she is to meet her online friend, Joe confesses his feelings, imploring her to forgive him for their past animosity. Kathleen becomes emotional, hinting that she feels the same way but cannot bring herself to forego her feelings for "NY152". Upon arriving at the meeting place, she hears a man's voice calling for Brinkley and sees that "NY152" is, in fact, Joe Fox. Kathleen cries tears of joy and reveals that she hoped it would be him, and they share a kiss.
A soundtrack was released on December 1, 1998, featuring a mixture of classics from the 1950s and 1970s, particularly the work of Harry Nilsson, as well as new original recordings and covers.[16] The score to the film was written by English composer George Fenton.[17]
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film three-out-of-four stars and lauded the "immensely lovable" main characters.[22] Janet Maslin of The New York Times also praised the film, writing of the leads, "Ms. Ryan plays her role blithely and credibly this time, with an air of freshness, a minimum of cute fidgeting and a lot of fond chemistry with Mr. Hanks. And he continues to amaze. Once again, he fully inhabits a new role without any obvious actorly behavior, to the point where comparisons to James Stewart ... really cannot be avoided."[23] Lael Loewenstein of Variety similarly called it a "winning romantic comedy" and praised the chemistry between Hanks and Ryan, writing, "they show why they are two of Hollywood's most bankable and, in many ways, most traditional stars."[24]
Nathan Rabin of The A.V. Club disliked the film, and wrote: "Takes almost two self-infatuated, smarmy, condescending, cringe-inducingly sentimental hours to reach its pre-ordained conclusion" and called the film "almost unwatchably saccharine, representing pretty much everything wrong with today's big-budget, high-concept Hollywood filmmaking."[25] Michael O'Sullivan of The Washington Post criticized the film's use of product placement and its overly "adorable" characters, writing, "For some reason, this film made me feel like a Christmas goose being fattened for slaughter. Its force-fed diet of whimsy cloyed long before the eagerly anticipated romantic payoff arrived to put me out of my misery."[26] Maitland McDonagh also criticized the incongruous product placement "In a film about the ruthless corporate destruction of small businesses, it's hard not to flinch at the prominent placement accorded IBM, Starbucks, and AOL logos."[27] Rolling Stone later included You've Got Mail in their list of "Most Egregious Product Placements in Movie & TV History" for the film's frequent use of AOL trademarks (AOL would later merge with film distributor Warner Bros' parent company Time Warner to form AOL Time Warner in 2000).[28]
Kathleen Kelly: [in an email to Joe Fox] The odd thing about this form of communication is that you're more likely to talk about nothing than something. But I just want to say that all this nothing has meant more to me than so many somethings.
We have arrived at the home stretch -- of the year with Christmas and New Year's, and of the season, with four games left at home against the 49ers, at the Bears, at the Eagles, and home against the Seahawks. Not a lot of queries this week, understandable with the bye. Questions have been edited for length and clarity. Don't forget to send a question for a future mailbag.
"I don't understand the Kyler Murray bashing. The guy is 2-2 since his return and would have been 3-1 if Gannon hadn't gone for a fourth-and-3 instead of kicking a field goal. Give Murray a break! We have a lot of people playing better with the new coaches and I wouldn't be surprised if we won a few more even with the tough schedule."
I mean, you can't be surprised there are those taking aim at Murray. Kyler had struggled at times prior to his injury -- and a little since returning -- and it is fair to have doubts still. Having doubts and bashing aren't the same thing IMO and there are definitely those who will bash, but I think it's safe to say there are going to be anti-Murray people regardless of what he does.
"Do you see the Cardinals drafting Cody Schrader out of Missouri? He's a carbon copy of the 49ers RB Christian McCaffrey. He runs downhill and gains positive yards for the most part. He has good hands and catches the ball well out of the backfield and can also be used as a slot receiver. I'm from MO and grew up a Cardinals fan. Thanks for any insights."
We are way too far from the draft to know what they might do with any pick, but I don't know if I would call this guy a carbon copy; McCaffery I and many others knew by this time in the process. From what I can gather about this Schrader kid, he might be one of those UDFAs that Dwayne above was talking about. Or a sixth- or seventh-rounder. I do think they will look at multiple running backs this offseason because that's what you need to do at the position every year.
Next season is a long way away, Ben. I don't think there is any question they want to vet these current rookies as much as possible, one of the reasons it makes sense to play Divaad Wilson once Starling Thomas V got hurt, and why Marco Wilson -- who got plenty of snaps most of the season to show what he can do -- remains only on special teams right now. I'd expect the trio to stay Clark/Wilson/Garrett Williams, and Thomas could get back into the mix when he returns from his ankle, which could be this week. Veteran Antonio Hamilton is also back from his injury, although again, I think they stay young with playing time. All that said, I would not be surprised if they used a first- or second-round pick on the position in April.
"Darren, not a real Cardinals question, but a question of your team of journalists. Who works for who? Who has any say as to what happens? You seem to, but does Dani work for you, how about Craig, Paul? I know not a big thing to ask, but just kinda wondered. Thanks for all."
Technically, all of them (and Zach Gershman, don't forget about Zach) are my direct report, but much of that has to do more with the business aspect of our job rather than the journalism. We all report to Tim DeLaney, who is the VP of content and creative. But as the director of editorial content, I have a pretty decent voice on what makes sense for what we might do and what fits our brand and current culture in the building. Our whole C&C department works together well in discussion and ideas. That's why I believe we are one of the best content teams in the league.
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