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you 've got mail " is the very definition of a " cute " movie .
it 's got cute stars , a cute story - line , and even cute pets .
despite this over - whelming cuteness ( or maybe because of it ) , i loved " you 've got mail " .
i know , i know .
i 'm supposed to be a film critic .
i 'm not supposed to love transparent and formula pictures like this .
but darn it , somewhere along the way , " you 've got mail " reeled me in , hook , line , and sinker .
the movie stars tom hanks and meg ryan as two somewhat unhappy new yorkers who meet in an aol online chat room and quickly become close friends , without ever knowing each others identity .
as the movie progresses , though , they begin to discover that they have a lot in common with each other .
meanwhile , in " real - life " , they are bitter competitors .
she owns a quaint little children 's bookstore , he owns one of those gigantic super - bookstores that offer impersonal service and discount prices .
while his store threatens to run her store out of business , their online relationship grows stronger .
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you 've got mail " is as artificial as movies come .
everything is nice and happy and by the end , all the characters have gotten exactly what they wanted out of life .
there are no real conflicts , no major disappointments , no unresolved issues .
nevertheless , i quite enjoyed it .
in fact , i ca n't remember the last time i had such a good time at the movies .
i think sometimes you have to be able to watch a movie and just get drawn into it .
the fact that stars hank and ryan are at the top of their game does not hurt either .
in particular , hanks is at his best here , turning his " charm - meter " up to 11 .
everytime he was on screen , he had my full attention .
and despite the fact that he was driving little bookstores out of business , i was rooting for him .
it was good to see hanks back doing what he does best : playing the affable everyman .
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you 've got mail " certainly wo n't be winning any awards , but as an exercise in pure entertainment , it 's as good as it gets .
at the top of their game as good as it gets the very definition of a " cute " movie is at his best here nevertheless , i quite enjoyed it reeled me in , hook , line , and sinker i ca n't remember the last time i had such a good time