Meg Ryan in You’ve Got Mail.
Number three on my list of Favorite Go-to Films is: You’ve Got Mail starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan (1998).
It’s the story of two book store owners – Joe Fox, who owns the mega-chain Fox Books and Kathleen Kennedy, proprietor of the children’s book store Shop Around the Corner. The two have found each other online (a very novel concept in the late 90s) but they also know – and dislike – each other in person. The thing is they don’t know the online people are also the in-person people. And then there’s the problem of Joe putting Kathleen out of business. Directed by Nora Ephronand based on the 1940 film Shop The Around the Corner with Jimmy Stewart and Margaret Sullavan, You’ve Got Mail is oh-so-charming and quite funny.
OK, so the costumes aren’t showy in this romantic comedy, but they are certainly of the era and appropriate for the characters. Costume designer Albert Wolsky says that he was striving for a studious look for Kathleen. Covering four seasons in the Upper West Side of New York City, we see Kathleen in jumpers and opaque tights, skirts with Oxford shirts, khaki slacks paired with a white t-shirt and a grey cardigan. Colors are muted and the silhouettes are simple. Wolsky says that Kathleen is not a fashion plate. Kathleen’s dress in the final scene is a Marc Jacobs and the only designer brand used.
It’s rare for me to have extended laugh-out-loud moments while watching movies, but co-stars Parker Posey (Joe’s self-focused girlfriend) and Dave Chappelle (Joe’s business assistant) are hilarious in just a few brief scenes. I enjoy these actors and I always rewind their scenes for the laughs. Dabney Coleman as Joe’s cad-of-a-father is also pretty funny as is Jean Stapleton, Kathleen’s spirit-guided accountant.
We’ve got charm, humor, books, and gorgeous NYC street scenes. What’s not to like?
OverDressed for Life 
You’ve Got Mail is one of my favourite romantic movies and it gets better with multiple viewings.There’s an incredible warmth to this film: from Tom and Meg, to the care-free soundtrack and the richly beautiful New York cinematography. Meg Ryan shines in this movie, she’s so natural and genuine.
Another fan … hooray! Thank you for commenting. This is my favorite Nora Ephron film for all that you’ve mentioned – soundtrack, NYC city scenes as well as the play with color reflecting the four seasons, and the nods here and there to other films. Meg Ryan is particularly charming, yes.
I highly recommend watching the original The Shop Around the Corner, a film even persnickety New Yorker film critic Pauline Kael considered “as close to perfection as a movie made by mortals is ever likely to be.” It is directed by the renowned Ernst Lubitsch. It’s kind of a Christmas movie so perhaps put it on your December calendar?
I remember seeing it years ago but it’s time to see it again. I’ll save it for a dark December evening. Thank you!