Why did I watch it? I don’t know. I must have been too lazy to change the channel. Last night, some movie station (I forget which one) showed the confused 1998 romantic comedy, “You’ve Got Mail”. Having just seen Tom and Meg the night before when I watched the last 30 minutes of “Sleepless in Seattle” (again, too lazy to grab the remote), I thought it was a repeat showing. It wasn’t. Same cast, slightly different story.
Anyway, maybe as I guy I don’t get the romantic comedy genre in general, but this plot confused me. In short (spoiler coming, if you haven’t seen it), Joe (Tom Hanks) falls in love with Kathleen (Meg Ryan), anonymously, by e-mail. They don’t realize that in real life, they’ve met, and they’re bitter enemies.
- When Joe realizes who his Internet crush is, instead of telling her, he keeps it secret, and is really mean to her. Why? That’s never explained. He just is. The unexplained motivations get better.
- When Joe, the man Kathleen hates intensely, barges into Kathleen’s apartment, she’s not upset. No, they have a friendly chat. Huh? Seriously, in real life, she’d be calling the police and fending him off with a knife. That’s scary stuff.
- Joe keeps his identity secret for days (weeks?), playing with Kathleen’s emotions by e-mail. This, in real life, would be considered cruel and deceptive. What does she do when she finds out? She kisses him.
Alright, I just don’t get it. And don’t get me started on “Sleepless in Seattle”. I mean, for crying out loud. How could they fall in love? She was a stalker!
What’s on tonight? Oh, crap. “What Women Want”? No! I put my foot down. I’m going to go to Blockbuster and I’m going to find a cheesy action movie. Like Roger Moore in “Moonraker” — I always get all misty when that metal-toothed behemoth, Jaws, meets the love of his life. *sniff* Pass me a kleenex, will ya?
