The defence The Sentimental Softie
“Sincerity is not manipulation.”
The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.
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You've Got Mail
Comedy · Romance · 1998
Book superstore magnate Joe Fox and independent book shop owner Kathleen Kelly fall in love in the anonymity of the Internet—both blissfully unaware that he's trying to put her out of business.
Movie details
You've Got Mail
“Someone you pass on the street may already be the love of your life.”
1998 Comedy · Romance 1h 59m
Critical arithmetic
The consensus, allegedly.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
IMDb
6.7 / 10
244.2K votes
Rotten Tomatoes
69 %
Tomatometer
Metacritic
58 / 100
Metascore
TMDB
6.7 / 10
Community rating
External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.
Book superstore magnate Joe Fox and independent book shop owner Kathleen Kelly fall in love in the anonymity of the Internet—both blissfully unaware that he's trying to put her out of business.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over You've Got Mail?
For the defence
The Sentimental Softie
“You came to feel something, and you will.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Cool Ironist
“Feeling things is a little embarrassing.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
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Your Christmas or Mine?
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Your Place or Mine
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Relationship Goals
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Chasing Papi
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Only the Lonely
Comedy · 1991
Danny Muldoon, a Chicago policeman, still lives with his overbearing mother Rose. He meets and falls in love with Theresa Luna, whose father owns the local funeral parlour. Naturally, his mother objects to the relationship, and Danny and Theresa must either overcome her objections or give up the romance.
Where it lives
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Nora Ephron
Written by
Nora Ephron · Delia Ephron
Meg Ryan
Kathleen Kelly
Tom Hanks
Joe Fox
Greg Kinnear
Frank Navasky
Parker Posey
Patricia Eden
Heather Burns
Christina Plutzker
Dave Chappelle
Kevin Jackson
Jean Stapleton
Birdie Conrad
Court is in session
Put You've Got Mail on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Cool Ironist
“The strings are showing.”
Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.