Take the characters, for instance. There's adorable ultraistic, vulnerable Meg Ryan. She owns a quaint little bookstore. Her mother owned it before her, so it's a real family thing, and it's a legend in the neighborhood.

Then there's big bad Tom Hanks, son of son of conglomerate bookstore that plans to wipe their corporate feet all over the little guys, until of course two of those feet fall madly in love with one of the little guys. But not just in love. After all we saw Ephron choreograph Hanks and Ryan fall in love back in 1993 with Sleepless in Seatle. The delightful twist this time around is that these two characters fall in love with each other twice. They first meet online, via AOL. They chat, enjoy each other's company and think nothing of the fact that each is cheating horribly on their respective partners. The movie's cute, but it's weak on conscience.

Then, of course, they meet in the flesh, and are instantly attracted, but then repulsed since business dictates they should be enemies. The plot is comfortably complicated, but just as comfortably predictable. Co-writers Nora Ephron and her sister Delia keep us dangling by various threads. Now our brain is engaged, now the emotions, but always some vital core of the being is captivated by this movie.

The movie is smart without being obnoxious. There's lots of nods to the condition of postmodern society. And lots of cinematic and literary references are sprinkled liberally throughout the script to keep the brain ticking. But in the end "You've Got Mail" is like a warm sudsy bath in nostalgia and hyper-sentimentality. It's goey mush where the emotions take over, and amazing conveniences make the plot even more soppy than it ever was, but who cares? After all, it's the holidays and the cinema is a great place to rest from the reality of everyday life. And like a package from the Post Office, "You've Got Mail" is well worth unwrapping, enjoying, and savoring.