If you're looking for the quintessential 90's love story, look no further than You've Got Mail (1998). The 90's were the prime time for one of Hollywood's cutest acting pairs: Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. They won your heart in Sleepless in Seattle (1993), and they returned with one of the sweetest love stories of all time, directed by the fabulous Nora Ephron. I grew up watching this movie with my mom, and it has remained one of my favorites throughout the years. Here are 13 reasons why it will always make my list:
1. Meg Ryan as Kathleen Kelly is the cutest.
I used to pretend to be Kathleen Kelly when I was little, and sometimes I still wish I could grow up to be that absolutely adorable. With the perfect mixture of spunk and , she owns the screen and inspires me with her knack for words.
2. New York in the fall truly is beautiful.
"Don't you love New York in the fall? It makes me want to buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly-sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address. On the other hand, this not knowing has its charms."
One of the most memorable scenes from the movie is when Kathleen is walking to work through New York as red and orange leaves fall around her, only narrowly missing Joe who she has been emailing with, anonymously. It is captivating. This movie makes me want to go to New York in the fall.
3. Tom Hanks as Joe Fox is so sweet, it will melt your heart like chocolate in your hand.
He's not all 'tude and "big books." He has a soft side and he is oh-so-charming. *Swoons*
4. The soundtrack is fabulous.
Everything from Louis Armstrong to The Cranberries to Stevie Wonder. This CD was on repeat in my first car all the time.
5. Meg Ryan's break up with Greg Kinnear proves it doesn't always have to be nasty.
When Kathleen and Frank realize they just aren't in love with each other, it is so civil. It's friendly, even. It is break up goals.
6. Birdie.
Jean Stapleton pulls of the kooky grandmother-type as Birdie so well. Her well-meant but in-left-field advice never ceases to get laughs.
7. Kathleen's relationship with her deceased mother is beautiful.
"I started helping my mother after school here when I was six years old.
And I used to watch her. And it wasn't that she was just selling books,
it was that she was helping people become whoever it was (that) they
were going to turn out to be. Because when you read a book as a child it
becomes part of your identity in a way that no other reading in your
whole life does..."
Kathleen was, and continues to be throughout the movie, deeply impacted by her mother, who owned the bookshop before it was passed down to Kathleen. It serves to give Kathleen's character even more depth and a complexity to her effortlessly adorable character which would otherwise be missing. The memories she pauses on during the movie and the impact her mother had on other characters in the movie move me to tears every time.
8. Books!
Kathleen's love for reading is inspiring. It's contagious. It's a huge part of what makes this movie -- and her store in the movie -- so charming.
9. Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan have incredible on film chemistry.
I honestly still just want them to fall in love in real life.
10. "That caviar is a garnish!"
This movie is so dang funny. The writing is spunky and quick-witted, and the delivery of lines is spot-on.
11. The writing in general is fantastic.
."I would have asked for your phone number and I wouldn't have been able to wait 24 hours before calling and asking, 'How about coffee, drinks, dinner, a movie, for as long as we both shall live?'"
OK, I can admit that it can get cheesy at time, but the sugary-sweet lines make my little heart do somersaults.
12. It is SO 90's.
Just take it all in. Plus, they met in a chat room and communicate via email. I pretty much only email my professors these days. Ah, nostalgia.
13. It will make you laugh, it will make you cry, it will make you believe in love.
Log back into AOL because You've Got Mail.
