You’ve Got Mail

By Gabrielle.

The older kids were talking about romantic comedies over the holiday break, and I encouraged them to watch You’ve Got Mail. Maybe they were faking, but they seemed to really enjoy it. At the very least, I got a kick out of watching them watch it. : )

There was a year, about the time Maude was born, when I watched that movie at least a hundred times, but I hadn’t seen it in forever. Have you watched it lately? I can’t believe how much I still like it.

That caviar is a GARNISH!

This time around, the bookstore storyline really hit me, and the reality of how much things have changed in the last decade. If we were placing bets in 2013 on which store had the better chance of surviving the year — Shop Around the Corner vs. Big Bad Fox Books — my money would be on the little guy. I would suggest some sort of artisanal twist, like beefing up her collection of first editions, or concentrating on out-of-print books. And I would definitely encourage her to offer her in-store collection online. But poor Fox Books, what in the world we would recommend to a 3-story-mega-book-chain? I’m afraid I would sadly tell them the forecast doesn’t look good.

Would you agree? Can you imagine what the world will be like in another 10 years? And the most important question: Do you like the movie as much as I?

P.S. — I get a huge kick out of listening to the dial-up internet sounds in the opening credits.

P.P.S. — I still covet Meg Ryan’s hair in this movie. Also, her apartment.

94 thoughts on “You’ve Got Mail”

  1. I love this movie. Reasently it’s been on tv severel time so I’ve been catching up ;)
    Ever since I saw it for the first time many many years ago it has bin my dream to open a bookstore like hers especially with a storybook lade every Friday. It is still a dream just not the time right now, but som day shop around the corner will open in Copenhagen (Denmark )!

  2. Oh how I love this movie. I even found a way to use it as a teaching tool in a creative writing unit on letter writing as a genre. (The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society? so good). If you can get the DVD of You’ve Got Mail, do it. The director’s commentary by Nora Ephron is marvelous! Sigh. I miss Nora Ephron. “What is it with men and The Godfather?”

  3. The most funny thing about the internet connection sound is to explain it to the kids! I watched the movie with the two eldest some time ago and they couldn’t believe we had to wait for the connection, if we got one, and that we had sometimes to sacrifice the phone. Jurassic period! I’m glad we are heading to artisan again, though! It was my dream to have a bookstore like that one, but I was highly discouraged with the movie at the time, ha!

  4. This is my go to movie whenever the pile of ironing is about to tip over. I love the whole thing, New York, the Little Shop Around The Corner, the cardigans!
    I always root for the little shops, I worked in a little childrens boutique for years before moving to Nordstrom…no comparison!

  5. This is by far my all time favorite movie. When I was in college I watched it so many times the disc wore out. I recently bought it from iTunes and I have it on my phone to watch whenever I want. It’s that movie I can pick up and watch any part and watch for any length of time and be satisfied. If I ever go to New York I want to go to the garden at the end and hug my husband and say, “I wanted it to be you, I wanted it to be you so badly!”

  6. Home sick today, and guess what was on? I never tire of that movie nor of either actor! They’re endearing!!! ♥

  7. I love that movie and just watched it over the weekend! I love the discussion of New York in the fall and how Joe would give her a bouquet of sharpened pencils!

  8. Oh, heavens, I have read and smiled at everyone’s comment on here. We are a collection of kindred spirits indeed!

    This film is my all-time favourite, and I echo many other sentiments about Kathleen Kelly’s style, hair, clothing, etc. It’s adorable and all-time feel-good. I also feel like most of life’s (not serious) dilemmas can be solved through its dialogue:
    Problem? “Go to the mattresses.”
    Bored? “I’m going to the nut shop, where it’s fun!”
    Name issues? “Hi, I’m Janice, Hi, I’m Kimberley – don’t they know they’re supposed to have last names?”
    Need to blow your nose? “A handkerchief is like a kleenex you don’t throw away.”
    On voting: “In the last mayoral election, I went for a manicure.”

    HA! Love it, and the music, and everything else …

    Personal confession: two years ago I treated myself to a trip to NYC for my birthday. I swooned most of the weekend, and the reason is surely that it was essentially a pilgrimage in homage to the film! I squealed with delight at Zabar’s, had a dessert (and still have the matches!) from Café Lalo, walked the long walk to the garden from the end. Of course I wore a cute dress whilst there, and it was the fall!

    Thank you for this charming post. I could even say it was enchanting! ;)

    – sarah

    1. Also, on Christmas morning I prepared a cream cheese/caramel dip with Skor bits on top (I think it’s like Daim in Europe and Heath in the US?). . . and my Mum was picking up all the bits of candy that was on top of the dip proper!
      I laughingly admonished her, “That caviar, is a GARNISH.” Haha!
      – sarah

  9. Watching this movie is equivalent to snuggling up in a blanket with a cup of tea on a rainy day. Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks have such great chemistry in the film.

  10. I watched this in its entirety for the first time last year and fell in LOVE! With Meg Ryan, Tom Hanks, the bookstore storyline, the dialogue, the setting. Ahh, pure magic.

  11. I love that movie! And her hair and her clothes and her apartment!

    Check out the special features…Nora and Delilah Ephron talking about how they made the movie…really interesting!

  12. I just watched the movie with my 11 yr old daughter this weekend. She loved it as much as I always have. I was surprised that it didn’t feel dated. And we laughed because my natural hair is like yours but during college, when this movie came out, I bleached my hair and cut it just like Meg Ryan and a couple weeks ago found an old picture to show her.

  13. I love this movie so much! Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan were just perfect. Also, let’s not forget Greg Kinnear and Parker Posey! Their characters were awful, but the two of them make any movie they’re in better, just by being in it!

  14. I just watched “You’ve Got Mail” on E today. I wanted to see who performed “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” , I love the movie soundtrack version. I really need to buy the DVD, I too love “You”ve Got Mail” and think it was Nora Ephron’s best (what a loss to those of us who appreciate romantic comedies at their best). I use to go to NYC in the autum during the mid and late 90’s. Watching the movie takes me back to the West side and all the happy times I spent there during the best years of my life.

  15. i love EVERYTHING about this movie. (this was back when my husband had his celebrity crush on Meg Ryan– pre-plastic surgery. now he can’t stand her cuz of how plastic and stretched her face looks and cuz she cheated on her husband!) i can’t wait till my girls are old enough to appreciate it so we can watch it together!

  16. I completely agree with you about the bookstore economic outlook. I live in Reston, VA, a beautiful community 15 miles outside of Washington, DC. Our Barnes and Noble is closing down next month while the tiny used bookstore in the old plaza continues to thrive. There have actually been protests, petitions, etc. from the community about the Barnes & Noble closing (it is going to become a Container Store). I never thought I would see the day…..people rallying behind a major corporate book chain!

  17. I adore this film!!! I’ve been a bookworm since childhood so I really related to a lot of it. I love so many scenes from this but particularly when Joe introduces his brother and Aunt to Kathleen. I have Aunts younger and around the same age as me and as a kid this was the only film that mirrored my own experiences. I also loved that scene where Kathleen finally visits Fox Books and recommends one of the shoe books to a customer.

    I’ve also always wondered what Joe Fox wanted to do when he finally got out of the elevator. Parker Posey and “Where are my tic-tacs?!” totally blocked that one.

    I’ll stop now before I rant on. Suffice to say I love this movie and am glad you posted about it Gabby.

  18. My favorite movie! I also adore the original stage musical (She Loves Me) and the first film adaptation (Shop Around the Corner). Such a sweet story. And, I totally got the Meg Ryan haircut in college!!! :)

  19. Yes! I do love this movie as much as you! And love your advice for The Shop Around the Corner and perspective on how the story would be different today!

  20. I love that movie! I was in NYC a few weeks ago and went to Cafe Lalo for dessert. It’s one of my favorite NYC spots. I love her hair and her apartment too. It’s a classic movie!

  21. You’ve Got Mail! The best movie in the world and in all of history. Can you believe it is 15 years old this year?! I watched it with my mom and sister when it first came out (and about one hundred more times thereafter). I remember wanting to be like Kathleen when I grew up. As a 22-year-old college student, I definitely don’t own a bookstore but I do work at a B&B and like to pretend I am the bed and breakfast version of her.

    Some of my male friends recently asked if they could watch it with my housemates, we are beyond delighted that they would even think of asking such a thing. OF COURSE WE WILL WATCH YOU’VE GOT MAIL WITH YOU!

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