You've Got Mail
| You've Got Mail | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Nora Ephron |
| Written by | Nora Ephron, Delia Ephron |
| Produced by | Nora Ephron, Lauren Shuler Donner |
| Starring | Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan |
| Distributed by | Warner Brothers |
Running time | 119 min. |
| Budget | $65,000,000 |
You've Got Mail is an American romantic comedy released in 1998 by Warner Brothers Films and given significant media coverage (including a substantial mention in the TV sitcom Friends) leading up to its release. Part of the anticipation for the feature film was the romantic coupling of Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, a dynamic employed successfully in other films such as Joe vs. The Volcano and Sleepless in Seattle. The name of the film is the greeting that AOL users hear when they receive new e-mail.
You've Got Mail was directed by Nora Ephron. The script was written by Ephron and her sister Delia Ephron (with a credit given to Miklós László, the writer of the original play). The production team included Nora Ephron, Delia Ephron (who worked with Nora on films such as Michael and Sleepless in Seattle), and Lauren Shuler Donner, responsible for the box-office-busting comedy Mr. Mom. The cast included Greg Kinnear, Parker Posey, Jean Stapleton, Steve Zahn, David Chappelle, Dabney Coleman, and Hallee Hirsh.
The entire film resonates with Ephron's personality and influence. Set in the Upper West Side of New York City, Ephron insists that You've Got Mail was as much about the West Side itself as the characters, highlighting the 'small town community' feel that pervades the West Side.
Along with Nora Ephron's uncompromising directorial style the film is accompanied by a score written by George Fenton, a veteran of a wide variety of motion pictures ranging from Dangerous Liaisons to Gandhi.
Plot Summary
The plot centers on the romance between two characters in an adaptation of an older movie The Shop Around the Corner (1940) in which two letter-writing lovers are completely unaware that their sweet heart is in fact the co-worker with whom they share a certain degree of animosity.
You've Got Mail's interpretation of the theme has the two main protagonists working at different ends of the retail scale in the book industry. Kathleen Kelly (Meg Ryan), owns the small children's bookstore "The Shop Around The Corner" that her mother ran before her, whilst Joe Fox (Tom Hanks) carries on the family business in the vast chainstore "Fox Books".
When Fox Books expands into the West Side, The Shop Around the Corner is threatened with commercial obliteration and the two battle it out at loggerheads whilst unknowingly continuing an anonymous relationship with each other through e-mail.