My wife and I loved “Sleepless In Seattle”. We were never able to see “You’ve Got Mail” in the theater, so we just bought the DVD based on the cast and their director. We are sorry we did.

Where “Sleepless” was energetic, fresh and witty, “Mail” was contrived and, frankly, boring. The many plot parallels between “Sleepless” and “Mail” were also disconcerting, which made it difficult to treat this film as a standalone effort. My wife, who has watched “Ever After” about 10 times this week, and a movie I also think was excellent, is certainly a fan of the romantic genre. She was very dissapointed in this film.

I’m surprised I’m saying this about Tom Hanks, but even he was a bit lifeless and sedate in this movie. His character was hardly warm and likeable and rarely his animated, humorous self. Although he found some redemption toward the end, and there were slight moments where his physical comedy and mannerisms shined, there was little if any chemistry between him and Meg Ryan during their scenes. I think all the reviews praising their chemistry in “Mail” must be seeing something that really isn’t there. Consider that, in “Sleepless”, Ryan and Hanks were together for about 2 minutes in the entire film. Now that they actually have sustained conversations together in “Mail”, it became clear that it takes more than a romantic, somewhat clever back story to bring two people together in a convincing manner. The characters in “Sleepless” had much deeper development, and you really cared for Tom, his child, and the loss of his wife. Ryan’s curse of a fussy husband-to-be was also cause for concern about her plight, and how she was touched by Hanks’ situation via radio. In “Mail”, you have no sense of Hanks’ or Ryan’s character except through their emails, which despite their emotional intimacy, failed to sell you on what motivated these people. I simply did not care about either Hanks or Ryan that much. In “Sleepless”, you wanted them to win each other’s hearts. In “Mail”, you wanted them to just lighten up a bit and be more accessible.

The supporting cast was literally dead on arrival. Jean Stapleton gave the most contribution, but Ryan’s other lethargic friends and Greg Kinnear’s poorly scripted and directed characterization of someone against technology, were throwaway, uninteresting roles. When Greg brought out the typewriter, I was almost nauseous. What a typical way to reflect someone’s fight against technology. It was unfunny and unimaginative.

Basically, there was so much potential for this film, but its legacy of “Sleepless” and the many parallels with that film made “Mail” seem innocuous and slight in comparison. The lack of energy, poor character development, and the feeble romantic connection between Ryan and Hanks dropped this DVD to the bottom of our collection
Rating: 1 / 5

just another boring hollywood movie trying to cash in on the internet explosion
Rating: 1 / 5

Nora Ephron should be tied to a fencepost and beaten unconscious for making this drek. Look beyond the fact that this movie is one long commercial, no other film has more product placement. The insidious message of the film is the inevitability of corporate domination. Meg Ryan, the small business owner, has her bookstore driven into the ground by Tom Hanks and his Borders type mega-store but all is forgiven in the name of love. I’ve never known destroying someone’s livelihood to be an aphrodisiac. The rest is by the numbers romantic comedy. One star is beyond generous. Trite, shallow, saccharine, completely without merit. Everyone involved should be shot!
Rating: 1 / 5

You’ve got a weak story, weak characters, and a very weak ending (I mean come on – she actually falls for this guy?). For those who have never seen this movie and are considering purchasing the video – please think twice. Read some of the other reviews down below to get an overall picture. If you are into sappiness without a consistent story, it may be for you.
Rating: 1 / 5

Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks need to play in better movies cause this one was boring all it has is romance. I really don’t care about having mail.
Rating: 1 / 5