I became curious if I could still watch You’ve Got Mail. It turns out, despite the charming Keanu Reeves, the movie, which was once among my favorites and proudly sat on the shelf in my DVD collection, now evokes a nauseating feeling, like after greedily devouring a large greasy butter cake that seemed delicious but was made so poorly that it leaves nothing but the horrible sensation of fat on your tongue, and you feel like your liver is about to explode, and you’re certain you’ll never be able to eat cake again.
You’ve Got Mail is a collection of overly sugary romantic tricks—not even tricks, but tiny little tricks (tricklets)—predictable, incredibly drawn-out in time, and yet decorated with numerous ribbons and frills of cute Meg Ryan and the oh-so-sweet Tom Hanks with his bunny-like dog Brinkley. By the way, the dog in the movie seems to be the only thing that doesn’t induce a nauseatingly sweet sensation and actually saves the whole film, although at the end, even it messes up with its attempt to get a kiss among flowers growing to human height.
And the casting? Yes, let’s over-sugar and over-fatten an already awful pie with actors from two super-romantic films—Sleepless in Seattle and Joe Versus the Volcano—otherwise, the audience won’t get that it’s a romantic comedy. Tears through laughter.
I much prefer the first adaptation of the play Perfume—The Shop Around the Corner from 1940, where the people seem more real. Just as Sweet November from 1968 is much deeper, more pleasant, and lighter than the strained Sweet November from 2001, even though my darling Charlize is in it. But she can’t save the terrible acting by Keanu (sorry, Keanu, you’re a great guy, but not a great actor), nor the overly cute romantic trinkets of “modern times.”
If you’ve seen the original Sweet November from 1968, you’ll understand what I’m talking about. The film with Sandy Davis is completely different. Epochally different. Which is no surprise—at the end of the sixties, there was a different era, a different mentality. Sweet November 2001 is a chewed-up adaptation for plastic American minds and equally plastic souls… What’s most frustrating is that the movie is poorly put together. If you watch closely, you can see the complete lack of logic between some events. Unbelievability, not to mention the obvious mistakes by the director (or editor), such as when Sara and Nelson have dinner in the same clothes for the second time. Americans never wear the same thing two days in a row, let alone two Americans. It’s nonsense! It’s because of these little details that the whole movie feels like one big “stretch” in an attempt to create a modern Sweet November. It’s sad.
And yet. Even though Pat O’Connor tried to “romanticize” a good idea with a good script as best as he could, the film still manages to be quite positive at times. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that it’s filmed in San Francisco, and the views of the city act like a balm to the soul of anyone who’s been away from, or never been to, San Francisco… But even if it weren’t for this magical city, even despite Keanu Reeves’ terrible acting (I never thought I’d disillusion my hero), I like this film. With all its imperfections, its recycled simplicity… I like it. It’s kind. And it’s about the openness of the heart. Something that is so lacking in modern America.