Film - "You've Got Mail"

You’ve Got Mail (1998) You’ve Got Mail. Dir., Nora Ephron. Writ. Nora Ephron and Delia Ephron. Prod. Lauren Shuler and Nora Ephron. Perf. Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan, Parker Posey, Jean Stapelton, and Dave Chappelle. Warner Brothers, 1998. Synopsis: The film begins by portraying the two main characters, Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks, going about their daily morning routines with their selected couples. Tom’s wife, as Meg’s boyfriend, storm out the house in the morning eager to make work on time, while Meg and Tom patiently wait for the doors to close and the coast to be clear. They then proceed to carry out their desired morning routines and check if they have e-mail. The two characters met in an over 30 chat room and have been talking, nothing personal, ever since. Meg Ryan owns a small book shop her mother passed down to her called, The Shop Around The Corner, while Tom Hanks is in the processes of opening a huge discount book store, ironically around the corner, named Fox Books Superstore. The movie depicts Fox Bookstore’s rise and the simultaneous decline of The Shop. While the two rivals, in the real world, recognize their animosity toward each other, the two virtual world characters comprise the perfect match. On the verge of collapse, Meg asks her virtual buddy for advice and he quotes the Godfather, telling her to fight until the death, declaring that it is business and nothing personal. Unfortunately, the protests against Fox and increased publicity toward The Shop don’t provide the preferred boost in sales and the local store is forced to close down. As the two online lovers, decide to finally meet, Tom Hank’s send his friend to view this mystery girl and as it turns out she is Kathleen Kelly, Meg Ryan. He then decides to grace Kathleen as Joe Fox, Hanks, as opposed to her date, or who she ironically believes is not him. Since Joe now has the upper hand and understands who his internet spouse is, he begins to play games with her. He purposely bumps into her and grants her advice about the mystery buddy and later goes home and further complicates the situation. In a moment of discovery, when the elevator crashed in his building, Joe realizes that his wife is just a money hungry brat and the elevator guy, a man who knows what he wants in life, has a greater advantage than any sum of money can grant. Joe then visits Kathleen, while she is sick and brings her daisies, her favorite flower. He asks for her friendship as closing her business was nothing personal and she did forgive the ‘other’ guy for standing her up. Tom Hanks further fiddles with the knowledge he has over Meg and ultimately, the two rivals become close friends. That is when the question arises once more, and the two internet partners decide to really meet. When Meg sees it is Tom who approaches her with a dog, her virtual lover talked so much about, she states that her deepest yearning for him to be the one had become a reality. The two kiss in an enchanted garden, as the fairy tail comes to an end. If comic artists have a “mind” or “brain”, then what is this comedy about? What is the theme of the film? What is the theme of the film? Is the comedian trying to convey a message? If so, that is it? Provide examples to support your statements. As comic artists have a ‘mind’ or ‘brain’, their comedies, as products of this brain, are made for a purpose, with an underlying premise. In a movie, a theme is a recurring message(s) that an artist wants to convey to the audience. This may be done quite bluntly throughout the picture or in a moderately subtle tone, so that only those in search for a thesis will find it and maybe still dispute it. In “You’ve Got Mail” several themes or objectives seem to fondle the audience. The first and most essential deals with today’s hyper-technological culture that paves the way for large money hungry corporations, while slowly destroying local businesses and leaving many with empty wallets and broken hearts. The Shop Around The Corner is a legendry children’s book store which not only holds value to growing offspring, but sentimental value to those who knew it as their childhood. Fox Books Superstore is a large discount book store, owned by Joe Fox, which recently emerged and quickly replaced The Shop. Meg Ryan, the owner of The Shop, attempted everything in her power to preserve this legend, her mother passed down to her, yet as their publicity increased the end result was not enough to save the store. The director clearly showed the slow paced demise of this renowned children’s book store. Their sales begin to decrease and Kathleen notices more and more people passed by the window holding Fox Books bags, demonstrating the slow transition from the slightly pricier local store to the over-grown corporation next door. The days begin to pass slower and less people are seen entering and exiting the store, even a local author, friends with Kathleen’s family, comes in to question if they will still be open for her book signing. These types of large corporations are taking over local prized possessions all over the world. This theme is not only apparent in office situations, where people are left with out jobs, but it is escalading to far distances such as the homes, where the entire family suffers. To show the contrast between the rich who run the world and those who work for it, the movie portrayed both families singing carols during Christmas. At Meg’s house a very laid-back, traditional celebration was in order. Everyone gathered around the piano and sang together, they sang any song with mistakes or without and unmistakably joy filled the room. At Tom’s celebration, on the other hand, a little girl sang a perfectly rehearsed song as the elders sat quietly in chairs around her, waiting to shout ‘encore’. Both occasions are well known, yet there is an obvious difference which correlates to the distinction between large and small businesses. The conservative house is very orderly and routine therefore they plot, in detail, how the night and rest of their lives will go, eventually taking over the world. Yet, the other, more relaxed and free celebration allows us to relate them with the small, one chain, business which has no real routine just tradition and local public support to keep it going. Unfortunately, this support didn’t amount to comparable profits to those of growing businesses and as a result, many of these small companies were overthrown or bought out. It is a very adverse, yet obvious reality and if people don’t open their eyes and soon realize that large businesses are engulfing the world and its resources, there will be no property or foundation for even those rich folks to prosper. This very serious issue is depicted in a comedy merely for the purpose of the audience. Placing a serious theme, such as the threat of large corporations and humanity, into an hour pact drama movie would only intrigue a few members, yet as a comedy it allows us to laugh at our own stupidity and obliviousness. During Christmas, Meg is seem placing ornaments, passed down by her mothers, on the Shop’s Christmas tree with a re-occurring theme song playing in the background, it is quit sad and only then are our emotions compelled to feel sorrow. But when Joe enters the Shop with the children and Meg thanks him for the purchase, telling him, and assuring herself, that it is loyal customers such as these which will keep the business running, irony strikes and the audience if forced to realize the big picture. The fact that these types of situations don’t end well in reality A second theme which deserves recognition is the irony engaged in relationships and love. Irony is a technique employed to demonstrate a gap or discrepancy between what the filmmaker says, writes, or shows and what is understood to be true. To begin, Meg and Tom as online lovers comprised the perfect match yet, in reality after meeting in her bookshop, the two form a relationship based on hate and cynicism. The director here is demonstrating irony between virtual, the unknown or mysterious, and the real, physical and obtainable. Since they lived in a small town it becames hard for them to avoid one another, yet when one would spot the other they would hid, rushing to the computer only a couple hours afterward to see if they had mail. This comments on the absurdity of love and relationships, that really the couple least expected to survive together, the uttermost rivals in the real world, in reality, or in this case the virtual world, make an ideal partnership. The director played with the audience in that, when Tom comes in The Shop with his young relatives to purchase books, Meg asks him if he will return, not knowing who he truly is yet, and he states, ‘yes’ without a second of delay. Meg, then replies that this, and customers like this, will allow The Shop to surpass this evil Fox Superstore and not be forced out of business, when really it is he alone who is responsible for this destruction. Later, when the two virtual lovers decide to meet, Meg patiently waits for her mate to arrive when Tom asks his friend to scope out the scene first. At this moment he discovers that his virtual companion and reality rival is, in fact, the same person and decides to greet her as the big bad Fox. She shows nothing more than a hostile attitude toward Hanks, reassuring him that the mystery man she is waiting for is nothing like him, a man in a suit who homogenizes the world. Ironically, Meg, he is everything like him because it is him! But not enough play has come from this disparity of knowledge so the movie goes on. Now that Tom has the upper hand, in knowing who he really desires, he persists in attempting to establish a friendship with Meg as Joe Fox. Tom goes to her house with daisies, her favorite flower, when she is sick and though the meeting started out cold, it ended on a happy note with continuous lunch dates throughout the week. Tom additionally made Meg’s online buddy sound very peculiar, questioning his position in life and whether or not he was married. Meg, of course, returns home with the questions Tom posed during the day, awaiting an answer from the man she “doesn’t know” at night. The irony consistently persists throughout these occasions as Meg begins to slowly fall for the real Tom, though she fell for the virtual one a long time ago and the two are, in fact, one. The ultimate irony hits when the two discuss their situation and agree that if Tom was not Mr. Fox they could have something worked out, similar to the perfect relationship she has at home on her computer. This discrepancy, a vital detail in the real world which leads to Meg’s demise, ironically turned into a foundation for the couple in real world to get closer. The two then agree to finally meet in the park and like Tom, Meg wished it had been him all along, a character she outright hated and ridiculed, yet couldn’t live without. The song in the background sang, “Somewhere over the rainbow, there was a man I herd about in a lullaby” which paradoxically is him! The two big rivals ended up being the two ultimate lovers, demonstrating the incongruity and illogicality of love, further exemplifying that it may withstand anything if true, yet still make absolutely no sense. This classic example of Screwball comedy is resurrected by Nora to fit today’s society. The same themes persist, as the battle between the sexes is evident in the female local store’s closure and the macho male Superstore’s progress. Yet, the ultimate female dominance as Tom chases Meg, and will stop at nothing, until the very end. The plot revolves around two couples who are currently unhappy about their relationships and ultimately fall in love with one another, a classic happy ending which holds dear to this sub-genre of comedy. The fast pass, witty dialogue is demonstrated my Tom Hanks as every question or statement Meg makes, he has a cleaver response to. The whole film is based on a relationship in this romantic yet, fairly real world and this allows the audience to interpret these plausible events as reality, even though in a comic world. It is a sex comedy without the sex, just as “Palm Beach Story” and “Adam’s Rib”. In “Palm Beach Story” the wife is chased by her husband until the end, over-stepping any boundaries, just as Tom chases Meg, this time not physically but, from the virtual world into reality. As in “Adam’s Rib” the conflicting lives of both husband and wife are constantly interrupted and almost torn apart by work relations, as in this movie when Meg utterly hates Tom for closing down her business. But as all Screwball comedies, a happy ending is ensured: The case comes to a finish when the couple realizes they belong together in “Palm Beach Story”, the couple settles their differences and move away together in “Adam’s Rib” and ultimately, in “You’ve Got Mail” Joe and Kathleen convene and fall in love. Which characters seem the most real to you – that is, which come across as nonstereootypica human beings? What makes them real? Which characters in the film come across as stereotypical, mechanical types? What makes them seem this way to you? Which is funnier to you, and why? Which characters do u empathize with the most? The least? Why? Provide examples. Of all the characters, Meg Ryan seems the most real and easiest to empathize with. She lives a fairly discrete and subtle life, dressing in neutral tones and average clothes, living in a decent size apartment, running a children’s bookstore that her mother passed down to her. She entails the passionate, caring, low-key characteristics of human beings, having a very strong sense of reality. Though she carries a continuous relationship with a stranger online, she keeps it direct and impersonal. Tom Hanks, who compiles a character on the opposite end of the spectrum, also radiates a down-to-earth sensation to the audience. Though he is regarded as the antagonist because he is the big bad Fox that took down the innocent little shop, it unfortunately resembles our world today and for those who make it, do not view it in a negative light. Unlike Joe Fox’s wife, who resembles a mechanical character, Fox actually has feelings which equate to his wrong doings and he tries to settle them by giving Kathleen’s former employees work and by establishing a friendship with her. He also takes his younger relatives to her store, which happens to be outrageously overprice, just because he is on an outing with the kids. He obviously has money, but does little to flaunt it. As for taking over The Shop, he even tells Kathleen that business is nothing personal and everyone should fight until the death. That comprises a rather real character, one who gives advice and follows by it as well. For many, even in reality, it is difficult to abide by personal advice as it is a lot easier to grant it from the side. Joe was also very intelligent, as was Kathleen; they were able to hold conversations on and offline with one another having little to do with superficial things or sex. Joe’s wife, on the other hand, demonstrated that stereotypical snobby, corporate gal. When they get stuck in the elevator, Joe realizes he knows little about himself and what he wants in life, the elevator butler decides to propose to the woman he loves, and Joe’s wife just sits there abruptly searching for her Tic Tacs, screaming, fussing, and acting obnoxious. Though this character seems more comic, the mechanical delivery of actions cannot be ignored. She clearly marks those individuals with so much money that nothing in the world can make them happy. She is married not for love, but for status and pose entailed with it. Nothing about her character is likable or even admirable; she is simply there for comic relief as Joe’s father. The ultimate question always erupts, better to be rich and lonely or happy and moderate? There is no right answer, as it depends on the individual and situation. In Joe’s case, for example, he had all the money in the world and still didn’t feel comfortable. His wife, on the other hand, seemed as if she would be content in any marriage where the husband was not too needy and allowed considerable leeway in her spending, not to say that she didn’t earn a bulk of the income herself. As Joe and Kathleen amounted to the two amicable characters, at the end, that found each other through a faulty source, yet sought to recreate their relationship on an alternate ground, characters like Joe’s wife and father are needed to provide that contract. Joe’s father, a man who has been divorced numerous times and is concerned with nothing but capital, depicts the elite group of gentlemen who run America’s top corporations, but in no way represent the majority. They were used to demonstrate that these individuals exist in the world, but are in no way ‘real’ human beings. She was the stereotypical snobby rich who bossed everyone around and considered that those under her deserved no praise and he only talked to his son of business and money making issues, leaving paternal relations far behind. These types of people live up in the clouds and though they provide a comic sense to movie, they drag negative reputations for humankind and usually live miserable lives. This movie very well portrayed two diverse characters, one rich (Tom) and one average (Meg), with a ‘real’ essence to each. This realism ultimately brought two exterior contrasts together to make the perfect interior connection, a connection that can be seen through clear lenses not superficial ones. In this comedy, does the central comic figure eventually discover an error he has been committing in the course of his life? Who makes the discovery? What is the discovery, and what are the consequences of the discovery? Explain and provide examples. One of then eight various comic structures, according to Gerald Mast, consist of a character who eventually discovers an error. This theme is common in both comedies and melodramas though in a comedy this error takes place in a comic climate which is a function of who makes the discovery and what discovery is made. Tom Hanks, as Joe Fox, makes this crucial discovery when the elevator crashes. The director chose this scene to make the audience aware of the errors ‘comic tone’. It didn’t occur during a business meeting or a critical life or death decision; it took place, as faith (or the director) would have it, in an elevator, stuck with his obnoxious wife and chubby bell-boy. However, this essential scene serves as an epiphany moment for Joe. He looks around and sees his wife who distastefully yells and fiddles with her purse over Tic Tacs, the elevator butler who decided he will propose to the woman he loves, and Joe Fox a rich man who know not what he wants. He even thinks to himself, that this man, a mere elevator butler, is luckier than anyone in here because he know exactly what he desires. His whole life, Joe has attempted to preserve a pompous image and good reputation, acquiring wealth and everything the ‘American dream’ entails, yet what has it brought him? Nothing but material goods, his wife included, and loneliness, a discovery only made by those who have already obtained wealth, yet is still in store for those who yearn for it. There is no love that strongly binds the couple together; at least it has not been presented that way. From there his actions clearly mark the consequences of his discovery. Joe Fox realizes that though business is brutal and requires a fight until the death, it does become personal on some levels, whether those who caused the pain feel it directly or not. That night, ironically, Kathleen decides to tell her online buddy that she owned a business, a business that got brought down by a larger one. She continues to open up and share her emotions, telling him that she felt as if her mother passed away all over again and there is not one thing that can make it better. To Joe now, it becomes personal. A girl he holds dear to his heart has just confessed hers was broken, on his account, and now he must somehow act. Later, Joe and his father, one of the primary consultants of the flourishing Fox Superstore, meet on their boat. His father has gone through numerous wives and divorces and is now enduing another one, which also adds to Joe’s yearning for true love. This quick, yet vital scene only adds to Joe’s discovery and desire to escape this capitalistic ideal and enter a life of truth. The next day, Joe visits Kathleen with a bouquet of flowers, daisies, which happen to be her favorite. What are we left to think other than Joe has finally discovered what he wants?! He stops by her house when she is ill and asks for her friendship. He states that if she can forgive the other guy for standing her up than maybe she can forgive him for this minor incident. The two then continue their online relationship as well as their newly formed factual one, only to discover that they were meant for each other in the end. Because Joe knew who his online pal was the whole time and persistently attempted to redeem his rapport with her, demonstrates the consequential actions he took due to his discovery. He broke it off with the superficial brat, his wife, and aimed at gaining respect from a woman who loves him online, yet despises him in reality. He endured to demonstrate his amicable character so that Kathleen would first accept him as Joe Fox and then allow her to meet the ‘other guy’, which in fact was him. This convoluted procedure was well planned and carefully played out so that Joe’s ultimate error in life may be amended with and by the thing he wanted most, Kathleen’s heart. The Screwball features are again clear in the reverse class snobbery element. Though the wealthy have money, they are in no respect richer than the commoners. In fact, these ordinary folks have better common sense than wealthy ones and Tom Hanks realizes that. He understands that though money makes the world prosper in a capitalistic society, it doesn’t fill the hearts and empty spaces of all people. He saw that shallow side and realized he wanted something with more substance, a real relationship and not just one for show. Tom discovered what he wanted and chased after it. He finally won Kathleen’s heart and the two lived together happily. Gender reversal must also be noted, as Meg’s independent character was no easy obstacle for Tom to accomplish, yet his strong yearning drove him to the finish line. Screwball comedies combine high and low comedy, with serious actors in a comic world. This allows the intense reality to evaporate through the underlying themes and ‘real’ characters, yet still allows the audience breathing room by placing it in a comic setting with comic relief sequences the lighten the mood.