Movie Crush Monday: CT & You've Got Mail
Well readers, it's Movie Crush Monday again and we're going to lighten things up around here this week. Last time, I sent you quite the heavy recommendation, so we're going to head in a different direction today.
That's right readers, buckle up because we're headed to RomCom town. Now normally, I'm not a RomCom girl. No, really. It's not that I have anything against a romantic comedy in general, but by and large they're just not my cup of tea. Give me Vin Diesel blowing something up any day. Obviously there are exceptions to this rule, and You've Got Mail is absolutely my favorite of those exceptions.
You've Got Mail came out at the height of the Meg Ryan/Tom Hanks era, which I'm convinced was the Golden Age of the romantic comedy. It's idealistic almost (but not quite) to the point of being saccharine, and it's practically a love letter to New York. In case you haven't seen or heard of it (in which case welcome to 2015, time travelers from the past!), it's about two competing bookstore owners who meet anonymously online and fall in love even as they try to put each other out of business in the real world.
What I really love about this movie are the characters. None of them are perfect- in fact they all have moments where they're terrible. Tom Hanks plays Joe Fox, the owner of a huge bookstore chain (a la Barnes and Noble). He's spoiled and selfish sometimes, and makes shallow choices about his life. Meg Ryan plays Kathleen Kelly, a woman who inherited her mother's tiny bookstore. She's stubborn and speaks before she thinks, which finds her often stinging the people around her. She also has the cutest freaking apartment I've ever seen, which has left me ruined for all other apartments for life. True story.
But it's just so refreshing to see characters in a RomCom with a personality, with thoughts and feelings that are part of who they are and not just convenient for the story. I just hate how boring most of the female leads in these movies are! Kathleen's shop is full of the kind of cute, zany employees that only exist in Nora Ephron's perfect fantasies, while Joe's family life is adorably complex. Joe and Kathleen have run-ins and near misses so fortuitous that they almost seem magical. And let's not forget what is probably the most congenial break-up scene in film history, a moment that's actually probably my favorite part of the whole thing.
While it's not a perfect movie (what is?), You've Got Mail is fun and sweet and in my mind a classic. I tend to rewatch it when I'm home alone and cleaning the kitchen or something. And I'm just charmed every single time.
Happy Watching!
CT
That's right readers, buckle up because we're headed to RomCom town. Now normally, I'm not a RomCom girl. No, really. It's not that I have anything against a romantic comedy in general, but by and large they're just not my cup of tea. Give me Vin Diesel blowing something up any day. Obviously there are exceptions to this rule, and You've Got Mail is absolutely my favorite of those exceptions.
You've Got Mail came out at the height of the Meg Ryan/Tom Hanks era, which I'm convinced was the Golden Age of the romantic comedy. It's idealistic almost (but not quite) to the point of being saccharine, and it's practically a love letter to New York. In case you haven't seen or heard of it (in which case welcome to 2015, time travelers from the past!), it's about two competing bookstore owners who meet anonymously online and fall in love even as they try to put each other out of business in the real world.
What I really love about this movie are the characters. None of them are perfect- in fact they all have moments where they're terrible. Tom Hanks plays Joe Fox, the owner of a huge bookstore chain (a la Barnes and Noble). He's spoiled and selfish sometimes, and makes shallow choices about his life. Meg Ryan plays Kathleen Kelly, a woman who inherited her mother's tiny bookstore. She's stubborn and speaks before she thinks, which finds her often stinging the people around her. She also has the cutest freaking apartment I've ever seen, which has left me ruined for all other apartments for life. True story.
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| Yes please! |
But it's just so refreshing to see characters in a RomCom with a personality, with thoughts and feelings that are part of who they are and not just convenient for the story. I just hate how boring most of the female leads in these movies are! Kathleen's shop is full of the kind of cute, zany employees that only exist in Nora Ephron's perfect fantasies, while Joe's family life is adorably complex. Joe and Kathleen have run-ins and near misses so fortuitous that they almost seem magical. And let's not forget what is probably the most congenial break-up scene in film history, a moment that's actually probably my favorite part of the whole thing.
While it's not a perfect movie (what is?), You've Got Mail is fun and sweet and in my mind a classic. I tend to rewatch it when I'm home alone and cleaning the kitchen or something. And I'm just charmed every single time.
Happy Watching!
CT
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