Friends that know me, know that not only is this film a bit of a guilty pleasure, but that I am a bit of a romantic.. I like a nice lovely film where people meet and live happily ever after, like-‘when harry met sally’, ‘an affair to remember’ etc. I am not ashamed letting all know that not only do I own a copy of ‘you’ve got mail’, I have seen it countless times and I still cry/get weepy in a couple of key parts…
Yeah, It’s true. I think that love will conquer all.. well on the proviso that you are in love with/or still love the other, and that you want to conquer all. Meg Ryan’s character ‘Kathleen’, makes a heart filling and inspiring statement at one point in the film when asked if there was someone special in her life and she responds “no, but there is the dream of someone”. Who doesn’t melt at this thought.. ahhh.. yes the dream of someone, of that special person. Of the one that we would want to spend our lives with.. I am no fool just wanting to fall in love.. believe you me. I have had many opportunities and met many lovely men, but I am emotionally mature enough to know what is right for me.. and that is to commit to the right man.. someone who is a decent, honest, loving person, who has a good heart, compatible temperament, is physically attractive to me and someone who accepts and values me as I am and as I would accept and value them the same.. And If I met this person, as nice as the thought is that we would walk off into the sunset, the reality is, that we would get to know each other and be really sure of things before we made a commitment or promise of sorts.. a cold, careful (tentative?), way of doing things?..no,I think its a mature, sensible and realistic way.
anyway back to the film…
Tom hank’s character ‘Joe’ has an epiphany at one point, he realises that it is possible ‘to find the one single person in the world who fills your heart with joy’. At one point in discussion with this person, he talks about what if they had met under different circumstances and says “I would have asked for your number, and I wouldn't have been able to wait twenty-four hours before calling you and saying, "Hey, how about... oh, how about some coffee or, you know, drinks or dinner or a movie... for as long as we both shall live?"” … ahhhhh how utterly lovely. I watch this and sigh. When will I meet a man who says that to me??? This film has so many lovely lines of dialogue, as well as a fair few terrible and cringe worthy ones, but the good lines make it all worthwhile… lines referring to email communication- ‘you’ve got mail.. some powerful words’.. who cannot connect with that and recall fondly, the anxiousness and excitement that we have and may currently feel? New emails in your inbox from someone special can make your day seem more wonderful and worthwhile.. and their absence… well.. the absence of them can dampen your day if you let it.. me, personally I try and make do with re-reading older emails, but they never match the excitement felt with a new bit of communication from that sweet, special man….
The thing that I really like about “You’ve got mail ” is that this film draws our attention to the fact that we can judge people on superficial things such as their job, and if we were to really get to know them without that stuff.. we might really, really like them. We are doing ourselves a grave injustice and missing out on engaging with some wonderful people, all because of prejudices based on insane schema (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schema_%28psychology%29) we might have. I must admit that upon watching this film again recently that I did decide that I was now a bit disappointed with the ending, this same ending that I once loved and cried over, I now saw an element of meanness and manipulation…but we can talk of that another time.. For now, if you haven’t seen it..then do so…if you hate it.. don’t blame me, but do check to see if you have a heart ;-)
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