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You’ve Got Mail
Theatrical release poster
Directed byNora Ephron
Screenplay byNora EphronDelia Ephron
Based onThe Shop Around the Corner
by Samson RaphaelsonParfumerie
by Miklós László
Produced byLauren Shuler DonnerNora Ephron
StarringTom HanksMeg RyanParker PoseyJean StapletonDave ChappelleSteve ZahnGreg Kinnear
CinematographyJohn Lindley
Edited byRichard Marks
Music byGeorge Fenton
Production
company		Lauren Shuler Donner Productions
Distributed byWarner Bros.
Release dateDecember 18, 1998
Running time119 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$65 million[2]
Box office$250.8 million[2]

You’ve Got Mail is a 1998 American romantic comedy film directed by Nora Ephron, and starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan alongside Parker Posey, Jean Stapleton, Dave Chappelle, Steve Zahn, and Greg Kinnear. Inspired by the 1937 Hungarian play Parfumerie by Miklós László (which had earlier been adapted in 1940 as The Shop Around the Corner and in 1949 as In the Good Old Summertime),[3] the screenplay was co-written by Nora and Delia Ephron. It tells the story of two people in an online romance who are unaware they are also business rivals. It marked the third pairing of Hanks and Ryan, who previously appeared together in Joe Versus the Volcano (1990) and Sleepless in Seattle (1993), the latter directed by Ephron. The film takes its name from the greeting AOL users receive when they get a new email.

Plot

On Manhattan’s Upper West Side, Kathleen Kelly runs The Shop Around the Corner, an independent children’s bookstore she inherited from her mother. Her romantic partner is Frank Navasky, a left-leaning columnist for The New York Observer.[a] While Frank is devoted to his typewriter, Kathleen prefers her laptop and using her AOL email account, under the screen name “Shopgirl”, to exchange messages with “NY152”, whom she first met in a chatroom. They agreed not to share specifics about their personal lives.

“NY152” is Joe Fox’s screen name.[b] Joe’s family runs Fox Books, a major bookstore chain, and he is dating Patricia Eden, an abrasive publisher. Joe is overseeing the opening of a new storefront, just a few blocks from The Shop Around the Corner. Kathleen’s three shop assistants—George, Birdie, and Christina—worry the new Fox Books will hurt business, but Kathleen dismisses their concerns.

While on an outing with his 11-year-old aunt Annabel and 4-year-old half-brother Matthew, Joe takes them to Kathleen’s store for a storytime event. Joe and Kathleen meet, but when she expresses disdain for the new Fox Books store, he withholds his last name. Later that week, Kathleen learns Joe’s true identity when they meet again at a book publishing party. She accuses him of deception and spying, while he belittles her store, earning each other’s hostility.

“Shopgirl” emails “NY152” asking for business advice; he urges she fight back. Frank pens a column supporting The Shop Around the Corner that draws widespread attention, leading to talk show appearances, news coverage, and picketing outside Fox Books. Joe is aggravated by the negative publicity, but his father says it will blow over once they open.

“Shopgirl” and “NY152” arrange to meet at a café. Joe arrives with Kevin, his Fox Books store manager. Kevin peeks through the window and informs Joe that his pen pal is actually his professional nemesis. Joe initially walks away, then joins Kathleen at the table without revealing his online identity. They clash again, and Kathleen insults him, causing Joe to leave. Kathleen believes “NY152” never showed up. Later that night, “Shopgirl” emails “NY152” to say she finally stood up to an unpleasant person but now feels terrible about it. “NY152” apologizes for not being there and assures Kathleen that anything she said to the other person was likely deserved and probably provoked.

Despite efforts to save The Shop Around the Corner, business steadily declines, while the new Fox Books thrives. Kathleen closes the store and decides she will write children’s books. Later, she and Frank amicably end their relationship. Joe breaks up with Patricia and realizes his feelings for Kathleen. He slowly builds a face-to-face relationship with her, without revealing his online identity.

Eventually, “NY152” arranges another meeting with “Shopgirl”. Right before the meetup, Joe sees Kathleen and confesses his feelings, imploring her to forgive his past animosity. Kathleen becomes emotional, hinting she feels the same but cannot forego her feelings for “NY152”. Upon arriving at the meeting place, Kathleen, hearing a voice calling for Brinkley, “NY152’s” dog, realizes it is Joe Fox. She says she hoped it would be him, and they kiss.

Cast

Production

Influences

You’ve Got Mail is based on the 1937 Hungarian play Parfumerie by Miklós László and its adaptations.[5] Parfumerie was later remade as The Shop Around the Corner, a 1940 film by Ernst Lubitsch, which in 1949 was adapted as a musical film, In the Good Old Summertime by Robert Z. Leonard starring Judy Garland and Van Johnson and, finally, in 1963 as a Broadway musical with She Loves Me by Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick (composer and lyricist, respectively, of Fiddler on the Roof). You’ve Got Mail updates that concept with the use of email, and the lead character’s workplace is named “The Shop Around the Corner” as a nod to the 1940 film.[6] Influences from Jane Austen‘s Pride and Prejudice can also be seen in the relationship between Joe Fox and Kathleen Kelly—a reference pointed out by these characters actually discussing Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet in the film. The joke when Tom Hanks explains that the little girl is really his aunt is taken from Israel Zangwill‘s story “A New Matrimonial Relation” in The Bachelors’ Club (1891).[7]

Casting

Julia Roberts was offered the role of Kathleen Kelly, but declined due to a lack of good rom-com scripts at the time, the role eventually went to Meg Ryan.[8]

Filming

Principal photography took place primarily on New York City’s Upper West Side. Principal photography began on February 25, 1998, and completed on June 8, 1998.[9][6][10][11]

Delia Ephron, recalling the film’s bookstore setting, said, “Once we decided that she would be an independent bookstore owner, the reason we made it a children’s bookstore is, I think, we always tried to make movies as personal as we could. To find the thing in it that was personal. And we grew up loving children’s books more than anything.”[10] Nora Ephron similarly remarked in the film’s audio commentary, “This was something that was very important to us—that there be first editions of old children’s books. It’s part of what make [sic] this a serious bookstore. We wanted to sell the idea that this was a place that really cared about the history of children’s literature.”[10] Additionally, Ephron had Ryan and Burns rehearse and work at Books of Wonder, an independent New York City children’s bookstore, for a week prior to filming in order to get them into character.[12] The filming location used as the bookstore was at 106 West 69th Street, at that time Maya Shaper’s Cheese and Antique Shop.[13]

Michael Palin was initially cast as a reclusive novelist based on Thomas Pynchon, but his scenes were cut from the film.[10][14]

Website

The film’s original website remained live until at least May 10, 2018.[15] The website has proven to be fodder for criticism of web design from the 1990s.[16][17][18]

Soundtrack

Main article: You’ve Got Mail (soundtrack)

A soundtrack was released on December 1, 1998, featuring a mixture of classics from the 1950s and 1970s, particularly the work of Harry Nilsson, as well as new original recordings and covers.[19] The score to the film was written by English composer George Fenton.[20]

Reception

Box office

You’ve Got Mail grossed $115.8 million in the United States and Canada, and $135 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $250.8 million.[2] The film debuted at number one at the North American box office above The Prince of Egypt, earning $18.4 million on its opening weekend.[21]

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, You’ve Got Mail holds an approval rating of 70% based on 89 reviews, with an average rating of 6.3/10. The website’s critics consensus reads, “Great chemistry between the leads made this a warm and charming delight.”[22] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 58 out of 100, based on 19 critics, indicating “mixed or average” reviews.[23] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade of A− on a scale of A to F.[24]

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film three-out-of-four stars and lauded the “immensely lovable” main characters.[25] Janet Maslin of The New York Times also praised the film, writing of the leads, “Ms. Ryan plays her role blithely and credibly this time, with an air of freshness, a minimum of cute fidgeting and a lot of fond chemistry with Mr. Hanks. And he continues to amaze. Once again, he fully inhabits a new role without any obvious actorly behavior, to the point where comparisons to James Stewart … really cannot be avoided.”[26] Lael Loewenstein of Variety similarly called it a “winning romantic comedy” and praised the chemistry between Hanks and Ryan, writing, “they show why they are two of Hollywood’s most bankable and, in many ways, most traditional stars.”[27] and Gene Shalit on the Today Show called the film “exciting and enchanting”.

Nathan Rabin of The A.V. Club disliked the film, and wrote: “Takes almost two self-infatuated, smarmy, condescending, cringe-inducingly sentimental hours to reach its pre-ordained conclusion” and called the film “almost unwatchably saccharine, representing pretty much everything wrong with today’s big-budget, high-concept Hollywood filmmaking.”[28] Michael O’Sullivan of The Washington Post criticized the film’s use of product placement and its overly “adorable” characters, writing, “For some reason, this film made me feel like a Christmas goose being fattened for slaughter. Its force-fed diet of whimsy cloyed long before the eagerly anticipated romantic payoff arrived to put me out of my misery.”[29] Maitland McDonagh also criticized the incongruous product placement “In a film about the ruthless corporate destruction of small businesses, it’s hard not to flinch at the prominent placement accorded IBM, Starbucks, and AOL logos.”[30] Rolling Stone later included You’ve Got Mail in their list of “Most Egregious Product Placements in Movie & TV History” for the film’s frequent use of AOL trademarks (AOL would later merge with film distributor Warner Bros’ parent company Time Warner to form AOL Time Warner in 2000).[31]

Accolades

AwardDate of ceremonyCategoryRecipient(s)ResultRef.
American Comedy AwardsFebruary 7, 1999Funniest Actress in a Motion Picture (Leading Role)Meg RyanNominated[citation needed]
Funniest Actor in a Motion Picture (Leading Role)Tom HanksNominated
Blockbuster Entertainment AwardsJune 16, 1999Favorite Actor – Comedy/RomanceNominated[32]
Favorite Actress – Comedy/RomanceMeg RyanWon
Favorite Supporting Actor – Comedy/RomanceGreg KinnearWon
BMI Film & TV AwardsJanuary 1, 1999BMI Film Music AwardGeorge FentonWon[33]
Golden Globe AwardsJanuary 24, 1999Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or ComedyMeg RyanNominated[34]
Kids’ Choice AwardsMay 1, 1999Favorite Movie ActressNominated[35]
Satellite AwardsJanuary 17, 1999Best Actress – Musical or ComedyNominated[36]
Best Film – Musical or ComedyYou’ve Got MailNominated
Best Original Song“Anyone at All”Nominated

Notes

  1.  Frank Navasky was named after Nora Ephron’s “friend Victor Navasky, [at the time the] publisher and editorial director of The Nation“.[4]
  2.  Joe Fox was named “after a book editor and former boyfriend [of Nora Ephron] who died in 1995.”[4]

References

  1.  “You’ve Got Mail (PG)”. British Board of Film Classification. January 11, 1999. Archived from the original on December 20, 2016. Retrieved December 3, 2016.
  2.  “You’ve Got Mail (1998)”. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 5, 2024.
  3.  Rossen, Jake (August 17, 2016). “9 Movies That Are Remakes of Remakes”. Mental Floss. Archived from the original on August 18, 2019. Retrieved September 11, 2021.
  4.  Smith, Dinitia (December 13, 1998). “She’s a Director With an Edge: She’s a Writer”. The New York Times.
  5.  Ng, David (November 27, 2013). “‘Parfumerie,’ a 1936 Hungarian play, is an overlooked inspiration”. Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on November 24, 2015. Retrieved October 13, 2015.
  6.  King, Susan (May 6, 1999). “With ‘You’ve Got Mail,’ You Get Lots of Other Goodies Too”. Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on November 24, 2015. Retrieved October 13, 2015.
  7.  Falk, Lilian (March 14, 2018). “The Master: Reclaiming Zangwill’s Only Künstlerroman”. English Literature in Transition, 1880–1920. 44 (3): 275–296. Archived from the original on July 21, 2018. Retrieved March 14, 2018 – via Project Muse.
  8.  “Julia Roberts Turned Down Meg Ryan’s ‘You’ve Got Mail’ Role Amid Rom-Com Streak, Says ‘My Best Friend’s Wedding’ Warrants a Sequel”. December 8, 2023.
  9.  “You’ve Got Mail”. Turner Classic Movies.
  10.  Carlson, Erin (February 13, 2015). “You’ve Got Nora: A Valentine’s Day Tribute to Nora Ephron”. Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on October 13, 2015. Retrieved October 13, 2015.
  11.  Etkin, Jaimie (December 19, 2013). “The “You’ve Got Mail” Guide To New York”. BuzzFeed. Archived from the original on September 21, 2020. Retrieved March 3, 2018.
  12.  Todd Van, Luling (May 19, 2015). “5 Things You Didn’t Know About ‘You’ve Got Mail'”. The Huffington Post. Archived from the original on October 29, 2015. Retrieved October 13, 2015.
  13.  Garrett, Amber (December 12, 2018). “‘You’ve Got Mail’ Turns 20 Years Old — See How Much the Upper West Side Has Changed”. Distractify.
  14.  Palin, Michael (2014). Travelling to Work: Diaries 1988–1998. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. pp. 470–71, 504. ISBN 978-0-297-84441-9.
  15.  “You’ve Got Mail”. Archived from the original on May 10, 2018.
  16.  Maggs, Sam (January 30, 2014). “The You’ve Got Mail Website From 1998 Is Still Up And Wow The Internet Was Terrible Then”. The Mary Sue. Archived from the original on July 10, 2019.
  17.  Logan, Megan (August 2, 2016). “6 Highlights from the Original ‘You’ve Got Mail’ Website”. Inverse. Archived from the original on July 10, 2019.
  18.  Foy, Kenya (October 12, 2016). “The website for the movie ‘You’ve Got Mail’ is a ’90s web design time capsule, and we’re obsessed”. HelloGiggles. Retrieved March 5, 2024.
  19.  Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. You’ve Got Mail at AllMusic
  20.  Clemmensen, Christian (April 1, 1999). “You’ve Got Mail soundtrack review”. Filmtracks. Archived from the original on November 10, 2015. Retrieved October 14, 2015.
  21.  King, Susan (December 22, 1998). “Weekend Box Office”. Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on November 4, 2012. Retrieved November 10, 2011.
  22.  “You’ve Got Mail“. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
  23.  “You’ve Got Mail“. Metacritic. Retrieved February 4, 2024.
  24.  “You’ve Got Mail (1998) A−”. CinemaScore. Archived from the original on December 20, 2018.
  25.  Ebert, Roger (December 18, 1998). “You’ve Got Mail Movie Review (1998)”. Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on July 8, 2014. Retrieved October 13, 2015 – via RogerEbert.com.
  26.  Maslin, Janet (December 18, 1998). “Film Review; hanks&ryan@romance.com”. The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 2, 2015. Retrieved October 13, 2015.
  27.  Loewenstein, Lael (December 13, 1998). “Review: ‘You’ve Got Mail'”. Variety. Archived from the original on January 7, 2016. Retrieved October 13, 2015.
  28.  Rabin, Nathan (January 29, 2003). “You’ve Got Mail”. The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on April 26, 2003.
  29.  O’Sullivan, Michael (December 18, 1998). “‘Mail’: Pushing Your Buttons”. The Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 8, 2015. Retrieved October 13, 2015.
  30.  McDonagh, Maitland. “You’ve Got Mail”. TV Guide. Archived from the original on May 10, 2020. Retrieved May 18, 2020.
  31.  Kroll, Katy (June 4, 2013). “The Most Egregious Product Placements in Movie & TV History”. Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 26, 2015. Retrieved October 13, 2015.
  32.  “Star-Studded Excitement of Fifth Annual Blockbuster Entertainment Awards(R) Featured at www.blockbuster.com — re> DALLAS, June 16 /PRNewswire/ –“. June 20, 2015. Archived from the original on June 20, 2015. Retrieved September 25, 2024.
  33.  “BMI Film/TV Awards: 1999”. BMI.com. January 1, 1999. Retrieved September 25, 2024.
  34.  Hontz, Bill Higgins,Jenny (December 17, 1998). “‘Truman,’ Bard win noms”. Variety. Retrieved September 25, 2024.
  35.  “This Day in Pop: Britney performs at the Kids’ Choice Awards 1999 (May 01)”. BreatheHeavy | Exhale. May 2, 2021. Retrieved September 25, 2024.
  36.  “INTERNATIONAL PRESS ACADEMY: SATELLITE: Awards”. February 1, 2008. Archived from the original on February 1, 2008. Retrieved September 25, 2024.

Wikiquote has quotations related to You’ve Got Mail.

vteNora Ephron
vteMiklós László‘s Parfumerie
vteAOL
Authority control databases MusicBrainz work

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