Foxbooks vs. The Shop Around the Corner

You've Got Mail. Those three little words are a large part of the excitement of receiving email. They are also the three words that helped Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks create a hit movie in 1998. Nora Ephron modernized the script from the 1940 film, The Shop Around the Corner, to give us a romantic comedy that is warm, smart, funny, and even innocently sexy.

Meg Ryan is Kathleen Kelly, the smart, kind owner of a children's bookstore. Tom Hanks is Joe Fox, the owner of a discount bookstore. Unknowingly, the two are not only vicious competitors in the book market, but they are also pen pals via email. When Joe learns the identity of his anonymous friend, life gets a lot more complicated as he struggles in the battle between heart and head.

Unforgettable Moments brought to us by Kathleen Kelly and Joe Fox:


Written in an email to Joe

Kathleen: I like to start my notes to you as if we're already in the middle of a conversation. I pretend that we're the oldest and dearest friends-as opposed to what we actually are: people who don't know each other's names and met in a Chat Room where we both claimed we'd never been before.

Kathleen: I go on line, and my breath catches in my chest until I hear three little words: You've got mail. I hear nothing. Not even a sound on the streets of New York. Just the beat of my own heart. I have mail. From you.

Kathleen: So much of what I see reminds me of something I read in a book, when shouldn't it be the other way around?

Via Email

Kathleen: What is it with men and the Godfather?
Joe: The Godfather is the I Ching. The Godfather is the sum of all wisdom. The Godfather is the answer to any question. What should I pack for my summer vacation? 'Leave the gun, take the cannoli.' What day of the week is it? 'Munday, Tuesday, Thursday, Wednesday.' And the answer to your question is 'Go to the mattresses.'

George: As far as I'm concerned, the Internet is just another way to be rejected by a woman.

Schyler: Your father is getting married again.
Joe: Oh, great. Congratulations Dad. Why?
Nelson: Who knows? Why does anyone get married?
Joe: Love.
Nelson: Yes, that is one reason.

Joe: Annabel is my grandfather's daughter. And Matt is my father's son. We are an American family.

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