You’ve Got Mail

By Gabrielle.

The older kids were talking about romantic comedies over the holiday break, and I encouraged them to watch You’ve Got Mail. Maybe they were faking, but they seemed to really enjoy it. At the very least, I got a kick out of watching them watch it. : )

There was a year, about the time Maude was born, when I watched that movie at least a hundred times, but I hadn’t seen it in forever. Have you watched it lately? I can’t believe how much I still like it.

That caviar is a GARNISH!

This time around, the bookstore storyline really hit me, and the reality of how much things have changed in the last decade. If we were placing bets in 2013 on which store had the better chance of surviving the year — Shop Around the Corner vs. Big Bad Fox Books — my money would be on the little guy. I would suggest some sort of artisanal twist, like beefing up her collection of first editions, or concentrating on out-of-print books. And I would definitely encourage her to offer her in-store collection online. But poor Fox Books, what in the world we would recommend to a 3-story-mega-book-chain? I’m afraid I would sadly tell them the forecast doesn’t look good.

Would you agree? Can you imagine what the world will be like in another 10 years? And the most important question: Do you like the movie as much as I?

P.S. — I get a huge kick out of listening to the dial-up internet sounds in the opening credits.

P.P.S. — I still covet Meg Ryan’s hair in this movie. Also, her apartment.

94 thoughts on “You’ve Got Mail”

  1. That is my favorite movie of all time! I have watched it far too many times to count and am gently made fun of for that :) It’s perfection.

  2. Sandra Gonzales

    You’ve Got Mail and Moonstruck are my FAVORITE romantic comedies.
    I especially love the references to the Godfather which is my favorite mobster movie. The only thing that makes me sad is seeing how cute Meg Ryan used to be before the plastic surgery.

  3. Definitely one of my top three favorite movies! I like to have it playing in the background while I am working around the house sometimes.
    You make a good point about how the focus seems to be shifting from bigger and cheaper to smaller and more unique- what a great shift!
    And yes, Meg’s hair, her outfits, her apartment- I still find myself trying to copy things about them from time to time :)

  4. My daughter and I adore that movie and have to watch it every year (at least once). I love Meg Ryan’s apartment and her clothes … and the way she walks. We know the movie so well that we can practically say it line for line as we watch it.

    1. Could you please help me understand a particular line?! What does Parker Posey say near the beginning, ” tonight, “pin” dinner, Joe Fox you promised…”
      Is it pin dinner, what is actual and what does this mean? Maybe just lost in translation to Australia!
      Cab watch the movie over and over again!
      Thanks!
      Helen

  5. Such a great movie. Although, hands down, my all-time favorite Meg Ryan movie is When Harry Met Sally… oh Nora Ephron, what would we do without you!??

  6. If you like “You’ve Got Mail,” you would probably also enjoy watching “The Shop Around the Corner.” It’s the Jimmy Stewart film that was the basis for “You’ve Got Mail.” And of course you’ll recognize it as the name of the small bookstore. :)

      1. “In the Good Old Summertime” is another retelling of the same story. If you’re a Judy Garland fan then you might like it more than the Jimmy Stewart version. I do! My sisters and I would always crack up during the “I Don’t Care” song. So funny.

  7. What a great movie! I haven’t watched it in a while, but I put it on my Netflix list. Thanks for the reminder. I do hope you are right about smaller stores being more successful. I think I will add that to my prayer list. Here’s to a great 2013 and I loved all of your pics from Venice. Hugs…

    1. The small versus large idea is interesting to me, because it’s not playing out universally. I mean, Amazon is a HUGE store and it’s thriving — personally, I’m a dedicated Amazon fan. But when I think of all the small shops, boutique hotels, vintage collections, hand-made specialties, etc. that the population seems to be drawn to (myself included), and that are featured in blogs and magazines, it sure feels like a return to small, quality businesses is a trend that’s not going away.

  8. One of my favorites. A few months ago I made a list of all my favorite romantic comedies for my 14 year old daughter and we have had so much fun watching them together. I get so sentimental and gushy watching her fall in love with the same movies I love! She loved You’ve Got Mail as much as I did. And…. I totally coveted Meg Ryan’s apartment too! Every time I watch it I laugh at myself noticing all the decorating details. It makes the movie even more fun for me when the sets have my “taste!”

  9. Meg has always had the best hair. I love that movie, too. Just like little book shops, there aren’t enough romantic (without being raunchy) comedies anymore.

  10. I love this movie – I will always remember it for giving me something to distract me from the horrors of learning to breastfeed! ;o) Nora Ephron once said it was her love letter to New York. I’ve always loved having that background information – it’s made me think, if I were to write a love letter to my hometown (London), what would it look like?

  11. In my city (Atlanta), it seems that the independent book stores that have managed to hold on during the past decade are on enjoying new popularity. After Borders closed, we have only Barnes and Noble as the big, national chain. I’ve also been reading about libraries becoming more popular. Fortunately, my county library system is amazing and my local branch is beautiful.

  12. I just re-watched this movie not too long ago and I absolutely love it! And yes, her hair and her apartment are both extremely enviable.

  13. Oh I love this movie. I went through a stretch where I would alternate between this and Gilmore Girls episodes to relax before bed. I still hold an unusual love of Zabar’s because of this movie. Have you ever noticed the cashier is now on Grey’s Anatomy?

  14. I love that movie! It’s so sweet how Tom Hanks keeps gently pursuing her and how she keeps telling him how wonderful she thinks he is without knowing it.

    Joe Fox: Mr. 152 Felony indictments.
    Kathleen Kelly: Mr. 152 insights into my soul.
    Joe Fox: Oh yeah. No competing with that.

    I think it is my favorite.

  15. So many great lines.

    “he’s fat, he’s a fatty”

    “I don’t care about that”

    “he’s so fat l, he’s one of these guys who has to be hauled out of his house by a crane…you don’t care”

    “that is very unlikely”

    Seen it so many times. And I want her apartment too. And her wardrobe.

  16. This is one of my favorite movies of all time! It’s still so, so good. Everything — her hair, apartment, bookstore, New York in the fall (makes me want to buy school supplies)! Parker Posey is also fantastic – “Uggggh WHERE ARE MY TIC TACS???” cracks me up every time.

    1. I LOVE the “where are my Tic Tacs?” line! Her delivery is so awesome. It reminds me of the “where is my beige iridescent LIPSTICK!!” line from Dirty Dancing.

  17. “Your mother was enchanting.”

    We used to live right by Riverside Park and every time I went for a walk, I’d recall the final scene. Ah, You’ve Got Mail is one of the best romantic comedies of all time.

    The dial-up always makes me giggle!

  18. I watch this movie every year before Halloween. It gets me in the mood for the holiday season. I love Kathleen Kelly’s style. And the music is perfect…

    “Thank your”

  19. My friend and I watched that over the holidays. LOVE LOVE LOVE IT! And I love her apartment and hair too!

    I believe I’ve spent most of my life crushing on Meg Ryan. But really, in that movie is just so beautiful– the little book shop. The turtle necks and tights. Books and story time. A sweet unfolding of friendship.

    F-O-X!

  20. Love the movie! Like many others, it is a favorite. Meg Ryan definitely makes great hair, traditional style and timeless decor seem so effortless…sigh!

    Small vs. Large. On a local talk radio show where I live (Salt Lake City, UT) the economy was being discussed (BIG surprise). It was mentioned that if every person made an effort to have 10% of their regular purchases come from a independent local business instead of a Big Box store, it would bring 400 million dollars back into our state economy. I don’t know how true it is or not, but has made me more aware of my surroundings and what I can do to better improve and support my community.

  21. Yep! Love this movie, and I love her hair – I kept trying to get mine to look like that, and finally came to the realization that we don’t have the same type of hair at all… bummer.

  22. We watched this movie this weekend, too! My husband and I were cracking up during the “That caviar is a GARNISH!” scene – I am always appalled and he always laughs. And Parker Posey steals every scene she’s in (par usual.)

  23. I love this movie, too! As a food writer, I spend most of my afternoons cooking in the kitchen. Now I’ve started setting up my laptop in the corner of the counter and watching old movies while I work. The first one I chose was… You’ve Got Mail!

  24. It was just on the other night and I had to stop and watch. Such a great great movie. The night before Sleepless in Seattle was on. Dream weekend!

  25. LOVE this movie, although I love Sleepless in Seattle even more. Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan are pure magic together. I think you are right about the little guy having a fighting chance these days. I don’t think The Shop Around the Corner would run Fox Books out, but I think there would be enough people around to support the little guy that they could coexist.

  26. This is one of my top five movies of ALL TIME! (insert hand gestures)
    We love it because it’s timeless. We love it because we want to believe that F-O-X will, indeed, reveal that it is HE that she loves. We want to love as deeply as she does–her love for and belief in people. She is the best version of ourselves.

  27. I love this movie – I should buy the dvd as I have it on VHS and we no longer have any VCRs in our house. Meg Ryan movies make me think maybe I could pull off short hair, but I’ve been too chicken to ever cut my hair that short.

  28. When I was watching Love Actually this year I realized that it’s the new You’ve Got Mail. I do love YGM though, and it’s definitely onto something. Coming soon: a FoxBooks superstore and the end of civilization as you know it

  29. I watched rewatched it for the millioneth time the other night and posted, “that CAVIAR is a GARNISH” as my facebook status and nobody questioned it ;)
    A modern classic for sure.
    Love Actually is worth buying. Really. Just buy it.

  30. Gabby, you should totally do a post on awesome movies from our mispent youth that our kids would love. We recently watched “Back to the Future” and “Home Alone” and “Pee Wee’s Big Adventure” with the girls and they loved them! Gretchen’s favorite movie is now “ET”, but now I need some more ideas… (especially since, luckily, they both think kissing is gross and run out of the room covering their eyes when it happens on screen ;)

  31. One of my favorite movies of all time as well, and my favorite Meg Ryan movie (followed closely by When Harry Met Sally, and I’m a French Kiss fan as well). When people talk about “the Rachel” hair from the 90’s, I think, “Nooooo, we def loved Meg Ryan’s hair the most….most of us were just too chicken to do it!”

    Gabby, did you kids have questions about the dial up modem sound? I think it’s so cute that they can still enjoy it. :D

  32. L.O.V.E. this film! and just watched again with my husband the other eve.

    Love the apartment, hair, clothes. AND due to this love affair…it influenced so greatly my apartments and now home. Right down to a painting of swans…remember in her bedroom area. I thought that was a perfect touch ..swans mate forever. The painting I have is a bit different, done by my grandfather. I also (don’t be jealous) had the Meg hair…it was the only style that worked effortlessly with my hair. I think I may just grow it a bit into that again:) (It is cut like Ginnifer Godwins currently).

    Watch Love Actually….really adore that film too! Hugh Grant…charming, reminds me of my husband:)

  33. One of my all time favs! My best friend and I email each other about life situations, and will say, “remember in YGM, when Meg…” We’ve seen the movie a million times & love everything about it.
    Gabby, I think you are right on about small vs. big. The exceptions I think of are Amazon & Target. I could not live without those two!

  34. no kidding! about the movie, AND about Meg Ryan’s hair! could she get any cuter?

    That movie has got to be one of the most quoted of all time. And about the economy.. that never occurred to me. what an interesting thought! I’m sure my husband and I will be discussing it over dinner.

  35. In an effort to counteract the seemingly millionth viewing of “The Avengers” at my male heavy house over the holidays, I put my foot down and insisted we watch “You’ve Got Mail” and “Sleepless in Seattle”! The best! The best of everything:hair clothes, apartment, banter and love.

  36. Love this movie, have the soundtrack, seen it so many times. Any Nora Ephron movie really. But this one is a favorite. :)

  37. Ahh, I love that movie and coincidentally just watched it over the weekend with my 12 year old daughter…she really liked it! I was a bit nostalgic at the SOUND of the internet connecting and shd was impressed that we had laptops ” back then” hah!

  38. I love this movie! I recently just watched it again and remembered that it was one of my all time favorites. I even had my hair cut like Meg’s. There is no greater romantic comedy combination than Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks. Great post!

  39. Oh gosh, I haven’t watched that movie in a long time…. it’s so good! I definitely agree about the small book store winning in this day & age, especially one focused on children’s books.

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