15 Films You Didn't Realise Were Remakes
14. You've Got Mail
You've Got Mail is about two business rivals who can't stand one other, oblivious they're falling in love over the Internet. Because the internet had only become commonplace in the average household around the same time, it feels like this sort of rom-com couldn't have been made sooner.
But this plot has been done, not once, but twice. Y'see, You've Got Mail isn't just a remake: it's a remake of a remake! The 1940 rom-com, The Shop Around the Corner, centres around a gift shop worker, played by James Stewart, butting heads with a co-worker, unaware that he's been writing her love letters anonymously. Nine years later, the story was rebooted into the musical starring Judy Garland called In the Good Old Summertime.
Considering the predecessors of You've Got Mail were successful financially and critically and had big-time stars, it seems criminal that The Shop Around the Corner and In the Good Old Summertime have been forgotten. You've Got Mail isn't a great movie but it's endured because it was the first mainstream film to centre around an online romance.