You’ve Got Mail

This is one of the most delightful romantic comedies I have ever seen ... I fell in love with both the characters Kathleen Kelley played by Meg Ryan and Joe Fox played by Tom Hanks.

The movie revolves around these two characters, who communicate via email and fall in love without knowing each others real identity. In actual life they are business rivals and Joe Fox puts Kathleen out of business. Shopgirl and NY152 are the avatars under which they are emailing each other.

The theme is so simple yet so sweet. The dialogues which are in the form of emails are fabulous and so interesting.

“The whole purpose of places like Starbucks is for people with no decision-making ability whatsoever to make six decisions just to buy one cup of coffee. Short, tall, light, dark, caf, decaf, low-fat, non-fat, etc. So people who don’t know what the hell they’re doing or who on earth they are can, for only $2.95, get not just a cup of coffee but an absolutely defining sense of self: Tall. Decaf. Cappuccino.”

The dreams and emotions have been portrayed so well. Kathleen’s pain and uncertainty after losing her book shop and how she deals with it ... gives you new hope.

I absolutely loved her lines.

Sometimes I wonder about my life. I lead a small life. Well, not small, but valuable. And sometimes I wonder, do I do it because I like it, or because I haven’t been brave? So much of what I see reminds me of something I read in a book, when shouldn’t it be the other way around? I don’t really want an answer. I just want to send this cosmic question out into the void. So good night, dear void.

Eventually when Tom Hanks finds out that Shopgirl is Kathleen Kelley he does not try to woo her in the typical fashion but makes efforts to be her friend without her finding out his real identity. He lets her be under the impression that he does not know NY152.

“If I hadn’t been Fox Books and you hadn’t been the Shop Around the Corner ... and you and I had, just you know, met ... Yeah. I would have asked for your phone number and I wouldn’t have been able to wait twenty-four hours before calling and asking, “How about coffee, drinks, dinner, a movie, for as long as we both shall live?”

Finally when Shopgirl and NY152 meet ... well I will leave it at that ... Go ahead and see the movie ... am sure you will love it as much as I did.

Without resorting to any kind of high-tech imagery or spending huge amounts on costumes the movie is charming and sticks with you till the end.