You've Got Mail: Building From Past Attempts

                  We start with the camera panning into a New York apartment building. We see a woman and a man talking. The man is ranting about the evils of technology, and the women listens politely. Once the man has left the apartment; she logs onto her online email. We quickly find out that the underlying reason is that she is going online is to flirt with men, one specific man in this case. On a whole the film succeeds as a romance.

                The makeup of the movie seems extremely similar to the earlier “Sleepless in Seattle.” It has the same two leading actors, and, in fact, the same director. The two have very different feels to them, however. “Mail may not be as romantic as Sleepless, but it's wittier.”(Millar,1) ^[1]. The story revolves around a man and woman, who are both in competition with each other in the book industry. Meanwhile, both continue to flirt online, without the slightest knowledge of each other. Halfway through Tom Hank’s character figures out that he’s in competition with the woman he’s been flirting with online. When he puts her out of business, he starts hanging out with her, and flirting in person.

                As compared to other love stories, it’s lighter. Especially, when you compare it to its predecessor it’s less heavy feeling. In “Sleepless in Seattle,” the opening is a graveyard which pans up, and  reveals that the main character’s wife has died. “The coincidences that make the destined lovers' paths cross aren't contrived with much finesse, but the characters get in some decidedly clever lines.” (Alspector,1). [2]

                The acting by Ryan, and Hanks are superb. There is no real defining difference between the characters they’ve done in previous movies, except they both work bookstores in this movie. I think the good acting can be chalked up to the fact that both have played the role before. Jack Mathews of the Los Angeles Times agrees saying “There's no denying the chemistry between Hanks, whose comparisons to Jimmy Stewart are becoming annoyingly accurate, and Ryan, whose schoolgirl cuteness is finally taking on a layer of matured confidence.” (Mathews,1) .[3]

                The film has seemed to make a new mark outside of its director’s  own earlier classic. The acting has been well honed, it’s light, and it has some amazing story development. It certainly has a lot of credence from other’s to watch.

               

               

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[1]  ^{Jeff Miller . "You've Got Mail (1998) " Houstin Chronicle . Houstin Chronicle , July 21, 2005. Web. October 3, 2012.}

[2] Lisa Alspector . "You've Got Mail" Chicago Reader. Chicago Reader, May 27, 2011. Web. 10/3/2012.

[3] Jack Mathews . "You've Got Mail (1998)" Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, February 14, 2001. Web. 10/3/2012.