Bill Simmons is also responsible for the name of this blog. You see, in his column and in his book, he uses the word "Pantheon" a lot. I like that word. I like it because it's strong and important. But, I didn't want to steal it from The Sports Guy, so I just sought out a synonym and found the word "Shrine." Plus, the title of the blog sort of rhymes, and I like that. Rhyming is fun.You should try it sometimes. For example, what rhymes with boat? The possibilities are almost endless.
So that's the Bill Simmons connection, what about the You've Got Mail connection? As I was watching this movie, a few things popped into my head. First of all, Tom Hanks mails in his performance (no pun intended). The movie was released the same year as Saving Private Ryan, and was probably shot roughly around the same time as well. Now, where do you think Tom Hanks' head was at the time? My money is on the best World War II movie and one of his greatest performances ever. I think he saw You've Got Mail as a chance to go back to his rom-com roots, work with Meg Ryan again, and have a decent shot at getting nominated for an Oscar for Ryan as a result of Mail (and he was). You know, so the Academy can see his range or whatever. Of course, I have no factual basis for this argument, and really, this whole thing isn't based on anything other than my own dumb opinion, but it's my own dumb blog, and you're reading it, so there. Another thing I noticed about You've Got Mail is Meg Ryan. Because really, you can't help but notice Meg Ryan in this movie. She is funny, charming, cute, and destroys every scene she's in. Any other actress in that role, playing opposite a Tom Hanks who wasn't really into it, would've made this a terrible movie. As it is, the technology featured in this movie is horribly obsolete, which deducts from its re-watchability factor, but Meg Ryan is so damn good that (for me) it cancels that out and makes me want to keep watching.
So, with that said, Meg Ryan in You've Got Mail is the first entry in the "Frozen In Time Shrine," because nothing she did before or has done since has been as great, and the way I want to remember her always is the way she takes over that movie and doesn't let go until the end credits start rolling. Physically, Meg Ryan has never been the hottest actress out there. She never had the killer body or the model looks, but when you see this movie, you can't help but think that she is the ideal woman, and you would kill to have someone like her. And that's it.
As a side point, look at Meg Ryan's career after You've Got Mail. First, she got all sorts of creepy plastic surgery that killed her "girl next door" appeal, which killed all those scripts for her, making her choose roles in incredibly crappy movies (In The Cut, Hanging Up, Kate & Leopold, and the worst movie of all time, The Women), and her career hasn't recovered since.
Odds of her having another Frozen In Time Shrine moment? I'd say 20%, and the way things have gone for her, that's a generous 20%.
Toodles.
