You’ve Got Mail: A Quintessential 90’s Romcom

By SHAY  KASHIF

When you think of ‘90s rom-coms with Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks, the first movie that comes to mind is probably Sleepless in Seattle. However, these two rom-com stars also share another movie that’s a little more obscure. You’ve Got Mail takes the same basic format as most other 90s rom-coms, but it puts a twist on these by bringing in a totally wild, unique, and novel concept: the Internet.

Now, I can already see you saying, “The Internet?! How is that wild and unique…are you kidding me?!” Keep in mind though, this is the ‘90s, when the Internet was still dial-up and AOL was still very much a thing (I’m willing to bet you don’t even know what either of these are). In fact, the movie takes its name from the robotic greeting AOL users would receive when they got a new email. Meg Ryan, in classic ‘90s rom-com fashion, plays a strong-headed and independent mom-and-pop bookstore owner (Kathleen Kelly) who absolutely hates Joe Fox (Tom Hanks) — he basically runs the in-universe version of a Barnes and Noble trying to outcompete everyone. Coincidentally, both their characters also frequent chatrooms on the Internet, where they constantly exchange messages anonymously, therefore conveniently hiding their identities.

Through the course of the movie, the two meet in person unaware of their online identities multiple times — each time learning more and more about each other and continuing to hate each other’s guts. Even still, their chemistry is comedic. Tom Hanks does a great job of playing the sarcastic yet suave Joe Fox, who also has a deeper, empathetic side that he shows to Meg Ryan’s character, Kathleen Kelly, online. As the two get closer in their online relationship, they decide to eventually meet up. At this point, Hanks’s character realizes that his online lover is his real-life nemesis, and basically ghosts her. He continues talking to her online, however, making up an excuse for why he couldn’t come. After he drives her bookshop out of business, Joe Fox realizes he’s falling in love, and makes amends in person, kindling a friendship with Kelly. The movie ends when Fox finally reveals that he has been the one Kelly has been talking to online, and the two embrace and pursue a relationship.

Now, besides the multiple issues this movie faces when viewed from a modern lens — for example, the fact that Fox and Kelly essentially e-Date while also in a committed real-life relationship — it still holds up reasonably well. Like all rom-coms, it’s not exactly realistic, and there are a ton of plot holes. Yet, as Kevin Thant so succinctly put it, “we don’t watch rom-coms to overanalyze the plot. We watch these movies, which usually have shoddy plots and character development, because of how warm they make our hearts feel. They either create a yearning or make you appreciate the love you already have.” You’ve Got Mail does a great job of this — it’ll make you laugh and aww at the chemistry between Hanks’s and Ryan’s characters. It’s also a great history lesson into the world of the 90s where the Internet didn’t dominate life, and was still a novel and new concept. Under modern standards, it may be cliche, but this was groundbreaking at the time. So, what are you waiting for? Give it a watch!