You’ve Got Mail 2: History Repeats Itself

The romantic comedy movie You’ve Got Mail is getting a sequel, after almost thirty years. The original film is much loved and is still frequently viewed on streaming services.

In the 1998 film a small bookshop, run by Meg Ryan, is put out of business by an all consuming chain of book superstores run by Tom Hanks. The message of the film is to accept change and move with the times. Meg Ryan is forced to close her bookshop and, after being comprehensively catfished by Tom Hanks over email, finally accepts her fate, and hooks up with him.

Tom Hanks has been offered a role in the sequel and is said to be considering it. But Meg Ryan is out of the running and industry insiders say that Jeff Bezos or Mark Zuckerberg could take the role of the villain this time.

In the remake, Tom Hanks’ superstore chain Fox Books is put out of business by the all consuming internet, run by Jeff Bezos or Mark Zuckerberg. The message of the film is to accept change and move with the times, blah blah blah.

Critics worry that the romantic tension of the original film could easily be lost in the remake, with some believing that neither Jeff Bezos nor Mark Zuckerberg are 'hot enough' for the role.

Image: geralt - Pixabay

Boys' Exposure to Romance Movies Starts at an Alarming Young Age, Reveals Study

A disturbing new study finds that boys are being exposed to the romance genre younger and younger.

According to the paper, boys as young as seven are accessing romantic material, a statistic that is sure to have any mother worrying about what her little darling gets up to behind closed doors.

‘I first noticed something was off when he started doffing his hat to me,’ the mother of 12-year-old Justin tells us. ‘In fact, it might have been when he bought a hat to doff.’ A few days later, Justin was caught under his duvet, devouring a well-thumbed copy of “Destiny’s Embrace,” by candlelight. “Aside from the fire hazard, I was concerned about how Justin was reading about these courteous, eloquent 19th century men and feeling like he didn't match up.”

“The advent of the internet means that this content is a mere click away,” sensual educator Clarissa Scott tells us. “It’s important that we educate our young boys on the disparity between romantic expectations and reality. Some of our findings illustrate how pervasive this issue is; when asked to describe an “ideal man,” many young boys mentioned the same thing: tall, brooding strangers striding through English moorland or emerging from a lake, their billowing white shirts clinging to their dripping pectorals. The view of masculinity was worryingly monolithic and Austenian.”

Michael Spencer, father of 14-year-old David, reflects on how the exposure to romance at such a tender age has affected his son’s relationship to his peers. “David had a sleepover with his friends from school to celebrate his 14th,” Michael shares. “When I went into the basement to check on them, I was horrified. They’d managed to find my copy of 2005’s Pride and Prejudice and were watching it on the old VHS player. Instead of talking about what they’d like to do to Keira Knightly, they were pondering the finer nuances of courtship and discussing how to properly execute a hand kiss. They were even considering practising on one another before I intervened.”

Parents are urged to have open and honest conversations with their sons and to prevent common misconceptions perpetuated by romantic media. A passionate declaration need not take place in the pouring rain, a dual is not an expedient way to protect your beloved’s honour, and the dashing heroes of literature exist only in the minds of their female writers.

Image: Pixabay/pompi

Ah! The Age of Romantic Movies