You've Got Mail

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You've Got Mail

You've Got Mail poster
Directed by Nora Ephron
Produced by Nora Ephron
Lauren Shuler Donner
Written by Nora Ephron
Delia Ephron
Starring Tom Hanks
Meg Ryan
Greg Kinnear
Parker Posey
Dave Chappelle
Steve Zahn
Jean Stapleton
Dabney Coleman
Distributed by Warner Brothers
Release date(s) December 18, 1998
Running time 119 min.
Language English
Budget $65,000,000
IMDb profile

You've Got Mail is an American romantic comedy released in 1998 by Warner Brothers. It is a remake of the film, The Shop Around the Corner (1940), in which two letter-writing lovers are completely unaware that their sweetheart is in fact the co-worker with whom they share a certain degree of animosity. There was also a 1949 musical remake, In the Good Old Summertime starring Judy Garland . You've Got Mail updates that concept to the use of e-mail. (The name of the film is the greeting that American AOL users hear when they receive new e-mail.) The film received significant media coverage leading up to its release in anticipation of the romantic coupling of Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, who had appeared together previously in Joe vs. The Volcano (1990) and Sleepless in Seattle (1993).

You've Got Mail was directed by Nora Ephron and is set in the Upper West Side of New York City. Ephron insists that You've Got Mail was as much about the West Side itself as the characters, highlighting the 'small town community' feel that pervades the West Side.

The script was written by Ephron and her sister Delia Ephron (with a credit given to Miklós László, the writer of the original play). The production team included Nora Ephron, Delia Ephron (who worked with Nora on films such as Michael and Sleepless in Seattle), and Lauren Shuler Donner, responsible for the box-office-busting comedy Mr. Mom. The supporting cast included David Chappelle, Greg Kinnear, Parker Posey, Jean Stapleton, and Dabney Coleman. The film is accompanied by a score written by George Fenton.

Contents

[edit] Plot summary

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Meg Ryan portrays Kathleen Kelly who is involved with Frank Navasky (Greg Kinnear). While Frank, as a newspaper writer for the New York Observer, is devoted to the typewriter, Kathleen prefers her laptop and logging into her AOL e-mail account. There, using the avatar Shopgirl, Kathleen communicates with NY152. This is the avatar for Joe Fox (Tom Hanks). Joe belongs to the Fox family which runs a chain of "mega" bookstores, Fox Books. Kathleen, on the other hand, runs the independent bookstore, The Shop Around The Corner, that her mother ran before her. The central conflict of the film revolves around the ability of Kathleen and Joe to interact well in virtual reality while they are business competitors in the "real world." A persistent mode of dramatic irony appears when Kathleen and Joe read each others emails.

The movie begins with Kathleen logging on to her AOL account to read an email from "NY152" (Joe). In her reading of the e-mail, she reveals the boundaries of the online relationship; no specifics. The two then pass themselves on their respective ways to work, unbeknownst to each other. Joe arrives at work, overseeing the opening of the new "Fox Books" with the help of his friend and assistant Kevin (Dave Chappelle). Meanwhile, Kathleen and her three store assistants, George (Steve Zahn), Bertie (Jean Stapleton), and Christina (Heather Burns) open up shop.

Following a day on the town with his eleven-year-old aunt Annabel and five-year-old brother Matthew, Joe enters Kathleen's store to let his younger relatives experience storytime. The two have a friendly conversation, where Joe Fox introduces himself as "Joe. Call me Joe", omitting his last name of Fox. However, at a publishing party later in the week, Joe and Kathleen meet again, both of them being in the "book business", where Kathleen discovers Joe's true identity.

All the while, "NY152" and "Shopgirl" continue their courtship, to the point where "NY152" asks "Shopgirl" to meet. Too embarrassed to go alone, Joe brings Kevin along for moral support. He insists that "Shopgirl" may be the love of his life. Meanwhile Kevin, looking in a cafe window at the behest of Joe, discovers the true identity of "Shopgirl". When Joe discovers that it is actually Kelly behind the name, he confronts her as Joe (concealing his "NY152" alter ego). The two exchange words and Joe leaves hurt.

Following incitations from Frank and Joe via "NY152", Kelly begins a media war, including both a boycott of Fox Books and an interview on the local news. Despite all efforts, The Shop Around the Corner slowly goes under. In a somber moment Kathleen enters Fox Books to discover the true nature of the store is one of friendliness and relaxation.

Allowing time for their electronic relationship to convalesce, Joe visits Kathleen while she is sick. Joe discovers that Kathleen has broken up with Frank, predated one week by Joe and Patricia (Parker Posey). The two begin a true friendship, slowly falling for one another.

At the same time, "NY152" and "Shopgirl" agree to meet one more time. Joe and his dog Brinkley (the topic of numerous e-mails) meet Kathleen at Riverside Park. The two kiss as Kathleen cries and Somewhere Over the Rainbow takes the movie out.

[edit] Cast

[edit] Soundtrack

You've Got Mail featured a number of popular songs, and a successful soundtrack was released in December of 1998. The soundtrack featured a mixture of classics from the 1960s and 1970s, as well as new original recordings and covers.

[edit] Soundtrack tracklisting

  1. "The Puppy Song" — Harry Nilsson
  2. "Dreams" — The Cranberries
  3. "Splish Splash" — Bobby Darin
  4. "Dummy Song" — Louis Armstrong
  5. "Remember" — Harry Nilsson
  6. "Dream" — Roy Orbison
  7. "Rockin' Robin" — Bobby Day
  8. "Lonely at the Top" — Randy Newman
  9. "Signed Sealed Delivered, I'm Yours" — Stevie Wonder
  10. "I Guess the Lord Must Be In New York City" — Sinéad O'Connor
  11. "Over the Rainbow" — Harry Nilsson
  12. "Anyone at All" — Carole King
  13. "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter" — Billy Williams
  14. "Suite from "You've Got Mail"" — George Fenton
  15. "You Made Me Love You" — Jimmy Durante

The song "Never Smile At A Crocodile" is featured in the movie (in the scene where Joe first meets Kathleen in her bookstore) but not on the soundtrack album. Also, the movie features a Harry Nilsson version of "I Guess The Lord Must Be In New York City"; a small part of the Sinéad O'Connor version featured on the soundtrack album is played during the closing credits.

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[edit] Trivia

  • Michael Palin's part was cut out of the final movie.
  • The character of Joe Fox was named after a former boyfriend of Nora Ephron who was an editor at Random House for authors such as John Irving and Truman Capote. His son Logan Fox ran an independent bookstore that succumbed to the pressure of big-box book retailers in 2007.[1]

[edit] References

  1. ^ A Princeton Maverick Succumbs to a Cultural Shift, New York Times, 1/3/07

[edit] External links

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