MovieChat Forums > You've Got Mail (1998) Discussion > The soundtrack is all wrong

The soundtrack is all wrong

posted 7 years ago by stevewyzard (1591)
4 replies | jump to latest

The endless stream of "oldies" was distracting from the actual story, which was about two people meeting through the medium of (what was then) modern technology. While some of the songs were obviously picked for the relevancy of the lyrics, the overall effect was jarring. If the whole point of the movie is "the future is now, and tomorrow's relationships could look like this", why continuously remind the viewers of the 1950s/1960s?

Some will say, "Those songs are timeless urban classics", but they don't really have a place in a story about the modern world. The only possible explanation I can guess would be the nostalgia elicited by Shop Around the Corner, which we are told started in the 1950s. And yet the film's forward-facing agenda repeatedly reminds us that the old days are gone and are being replaced by something new. You've Got Mail would have been better served with a (mostly) synthesizer instrumental soundtrack.

If one wishes to see a "rom-com" that does the soundtrack right, watch 1990's Green Card.

[–] artguylarry (498) 6 years ago

I agree mostly, though I liked the feel of "The Dummy Song" when Kathleen was shopping Zabars. It gave it kind of an "old New York" feel.

Henry, how are ya? Happy holidays!

[–] Decatone (27) 5 years ago

Yes! Watching it now and commented to my wife that the music choices were extremely clunky and distracting. Other rom-coms did it better; even Sleepless, but this soundtrack was horrible.

[–] stevewyzard (1591) 3 years ago

OK, I am willing to eat crow:

I watch this movie at least once a year, and slowly over time, in spite of what I wrote 4 years ago, the soundtrack is starting to grow on me. Even if the songs are old, they are mostly positive, upbeat, forward-facing, and are used as a kind of Greek chorus to comment on the action. If there's one thing this movie does right, it's the perfect marriage of nostalgia & sentimentalism to the endless possibilities of what tomorrow might bring. I can now see that a synthesizer instrumental soundtrack just would not have been right for You've Got Mail, a movie that never ceases to surprise me!

[–] vranger (444) 2 years ago

I'm glad to see you come back with that. The Harry Nilsson songs feel like they were written for that movie, even though he died four years before. Even by 1998, it was hard to come up with popular "contemporary" music that fit. We wouldn't have wanted it filled with (c)Rap, for example. ;-) There's a BIG reason why commercial producers mine 60s and 70s pop music for their themes ... you just can't find much quality pop music after that.

Most recent music is more niche oriented rather than broad appeal. And don't get me started on what poor singers many recent "stars" are compared to talent decades ago who trained and could actually hold a note and stay on key.