You've Got Mail (1998)
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69% of critics liked it
(83 reviews) -
70% of users liked it
(435,395 ratings)
Sleepless in Seattle director Nora Ephron originally made a name for herself as the writer of romantic comedies such as Heartburn and When Harry Met Sally. She continues the genre with You've Got Mail, marking her second collaboration with actors Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. The story brings romance… More Sleepless in Seattle director Nora Ephron originally made a name for herself as the writer of romantic comedies such as Heartburn and When Harry Met Sally. She continues the genre with You've Got Mail, marking her second collaboration with actors Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. The story brings romance and courtship into the electronic age of the World Wide Web via e-mail and chat rooms. Joe Fox (Hanks) and Kathleen Kelly (Ryan) live and work blocks from each other on New York City's Upper West Side. Their lives are practically intertwined. They both shop at the same place, frequent the same coffee shop, and even own competing bookstores on the same street. They also both have significant others of their own. Joe has the overly hyper book editor Patricia Eden (Parker Posey), while Kathleen lives with the scholarly newspaper columnist Frank Navasky (Greg Kinnear). Then they meet in a chat room. Though they keep their identities secret (they're known only by screen names "NY152" and "Shopgirl"), they tell each other everything about their lives, including their private feelings, which slowly turn into affection for each other. When Joe decides to open a new branch of his "Foxbooks" chain that risks putting Kathleen's "Shop Around the Corner" out of business, the tension between them escalates. Surely her boutique business will be lost to the conglomerate with a built-in newsstand and coffee bar. When Joe sees Kathleen waiting for him in the restaurant where they agreed to meet up, he puts two and two together, but cannot face her, given their agreement not to reveal each others' names and professions. How can he reveal himself to her now, knowing that he is the cause of her misery? Hopefully, love will conquer all. ~ Chris Gore, Rovi
- Directed By
- Nora Ephron
- Written By
- Nora Ephron, Delia Ephron
- Genres
- Drama, Comedy
- In Theaters
- Dec 18, 1998 Wide
- Studio
- Warner Bros. Pictures
Critic Reviews
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Lisa Alspector, Chicago Reader
The coincidences that make the destined lovers' paths cross aren't contrived with much finesse, but the characters get in some decidedly clever lines.
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Geoff Andrew, Time Out
The clumsily loaded characterisation not only treats almost every other figure as dispensable, but doesn't even bother to make Meg and Tom properly sympathetic.
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Jeff Millar, Houston Chronicle
Mail may not be as romantic as Sleepless, but it's wittier.
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Jeff Strickler, Minneapolis Star Tribune
A love story destined to be remembered as one of the best of the decade.
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Rick Groen, Globe and Mail
Fully-stocked, well-oiled and soulless, You've Got Mail sure feels like a franchise operation -- all that's missing is a greeter and a discount card.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Tom Hanks
as Joe Fox
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Meg Ryan
as Kathleen Kelly
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Parker Posey
as Patricia Eden
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Greg Kinnear
as Frank Navasky
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Jean Stapleton
as Birdie
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Steve Zahn
as George Pappas
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Dave Chappelle
as Kevin Scanlon
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Dabney Coleman
as Nelson Fox
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John Randolph
as Schuyler Fox
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Heather Burns
as Christina
- Michael Palin
- Reiko Aylesworth
- Hallee Hirsh
- Chris Messina







