Cast:

        Joe Fox - Tom Hanks

        Kathleen Kelly - Meg Ryan

        Tzipporah - Greg Kinnear (As Good As It Gets, E's Talk Soup)

        Miriam -  Parker Posey (Party Girl, House of Yes, Kicking and Screaming, subUrbia, Clockwatchers)

        Aaron - Jean Stapleton (TV's All in the Family)

Director: Nora Ephron

Previews: Blast From The Past, Message In A Bottle

The advances of modern technology have officially crossed over into every aspect of our lives. You cannot go anywhere, or see anything without something.com. Email flies at an infinitesimally greater rate than snail-mail. Businesses are run, commerce conducted, lives changed, all by this magical web of computers. It was only a matter of time, before it was incorporated into the movies. Other films (The Net, Hackers) have tried, but this one succeeds on focusing on the interpersonal and social magic allowed by being connected to anyone, anywhere.

The plot is basic and simple. The key to this movie is the interaction and appearances of Hanks and Ryan; the plot is the setup and purpose for them. It involves two people, in love on-line, where they escape the world, and discuss impersonal, yet deep issues, and then bicker in real life, where he is the heir of a bookstore chain, and she is the owner of a small bookstore, soon put into peril by Hanks presence. Their early interactions are some well-timed near misses, followed by meeting, then rivaling etc. Telling anymore would give away too much.

Hanks and Ryan are infinitely watchable together, proving that with more screen time this go-round, their appeal is definitely there. Hanks proves that not all of his characters are one-dimensionally good, showing a nice combination of charming, ruthless, and fallible, all at once. But its Ryan who's in scene-stealing top form here. She shows elements of every previous role she's had, from Sleepless, through I.Q. and even a touch or bitterness from the completely unwatchable Addicted to Love. All at once she is cutesy, smart, and vulnerable, a winning combination. Put these two together, and you have the heart of this film. The filmmakers here realized what they had in their hands. They had a truly magical and watchable couple, with a chemistry that people enjoyed watching.

The flaws come when the focus comes off of them, and they try to develop too many other things around them. The supporting performances in this movie are, for the most part, excessive, forced and out of place. (although it was a rather nice revelation to discover the love life Generallismo Franco, and that the Godfather movie is a religion to me) When it comes to a movie like this, people want to see the couple; the plot is just reason and supporting tale of why we are watching them. Suggestion..throw in one supporting character for him (either, a girlfriend, father, or best friend..but not all three), and for her (most likely a significant other, to show what she's missing and needs, although that isn't really the case here, because Kinnear really doesn’t do anything wrong, except inexplicably obsess on typewriters)..but she didn’t need a best friend, and a mentor, with as much screen time as they all got. The  pacing, uneven at times, due to the convolution presented by these supporting characters. Take out the pointless stories involving these characters, focus on the interactions of Hanks and Ryan, and basically..keep it simple, because it works.

This is an old-fashioned romance, with a perfected 90s touch and smart, yet not cliche'd plot. It will make you leave, or even float, out of the theater, with a warm, good feeling in your heart; the final scene of the movie reeled me in. Everyone in the theater knew it was coming, the only question was how, and the payoff was well worth it. This is a definite date movie, one for fans of Hanks and Ryan, separately, and together, and one for those searching a slightly flawed, but enjoyable and heart warming (isn't that how love really is though). It will make you smile, even bounce a bit, leaving the theater, knowing that good things can happen to good people. ($$$)

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