Let me take you back for a minute—back to a time before smartphones, before DVRs, before every single RomCom was the exact same story from Nicholas Sparks over and over again. That's right, it's the 1990s, aka, the best decade for RomComs this world has ever seen ("Runaway Bride," "Pretty Woman," "While You Were Sleeping," "Sleepless in Seattle," "Emma," "Father of the Bride," "The Wedding Singer," "Never Been Kissed"...have I convinced you yet?) But there is one RomCom that stands above them all, a RomCom for the ages, if you will: "You've Got Mail." I could go on forever about why this is the greatest movie of all time, but instead here's a list of 15 reasons "You've Got Mail" is the only RomCom we'll ever need:
1. Meg Ryan is peak 1990s
That hair. Those outfits. Bless.
2. It'll give you dial-up Internet nostalgia
"My breath catches in my chest until I hear three little words...You've. Got. Mail."
3. It's a reminder of simpler times
The Shop Around the Corner. Twirling. Storybook Lady. Books. Magic.
4. The family dynamics are so relatable
"Let me guess. Are you his...uncle? His...grandfather? His...great-grandfather?"
5. It's honest about the important things in life
"Since when do you get manicures?"
"Oh, I suppose you could never be with a woman who got manicures?!"
6. It teaches us about dinner party etiquette
"What are you doing? What are you doing?!"
7. It's full of life lessons
"'Joe? Just call me Joe?' As if you're one of those stupid 22-year-old girls with no last name, 'Hi, I'm Kimberly' 'Hi, I'm Janice.' Don't they know you're supposed to have a last name? It's like they're an entire generation of cocktail waitresses"
8. Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks are relationship goals
9. It understands the dating struggle (more importantly, the Internet dating struggle).
"How'd you meet him?"
"You're not gonna believe this..."
"Oh, let me guess....through the Internet?"
10. It's irresistibly quirky
"Once I read a story about a butterfly on the subway, and today, I saw one! It got on at 42nd and off at 59th, where, I assume, it was going to Bloomingdales to buy a hat that will turn out to be a mistake—as almost all hats are."
11. Tom Hanks is comedy perfection
"Good thing it wasn't the goldfish!"
12. It understands the importance of friendship
"The horn, the horn, the horn, it sounds so...forlorn."
13. It has endless literary references
14. The entire movie is quotable
"What is it with men and 'The Godfather?'"
15. The soundtrack is magical
*The Cranberries' "Dreams" plays in the background
