No one will ever see this, but what the hell ... I have no excuse for the fact that I've seen this movie. I was on a ferry and was looking for an excuse to stare at a wall for 2 hours. This is one of the most offensive films ever to make a bunch of Hollywood millionaires richer. I find it amazing not only that the producers of this film could condescend to such a low level, but also that a ton of people ate it up and begged for more.
Aside from the obvious exploitation of Tom Hanks as a cutesy nice-guy-at-heart type (such as the unbearable carnival montage, in which he is depicted riding around in the kiddie cars and other such calculated moves to make us say "Awwwww."), the real problem is the implicit sexism. The lesson Meg Ryan learns is that ultimately, she does not need to run her own business and carry on the family tradition, because her man will be making all the decisions for her. Her life gets oh-so much better after he has clobbered her book shop and gives her a job at his big phallic megamart. Plus she gets to be in love with him after he has fingered both sides of their disturbing "secret romance." This film makes "Joe Vs. the Volcano" look like "Citizen Kane."
It seems to me the reason this film received any audience approval is because we have been subjected to these implicitly didactic tomes for so long we mistake its disturbing vision for "sweet sweet romance." I am outraged at Hollywood, as this is new low for them, and I am depressed for the droves of people who lapped it all up. Claiming "light entertainment" as a defense is no excuse. For it is through the most innocuous means that society is shaped. If this is any indication, the apocalypse is close at hand.
I have seen two horsemen, and they are Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan.
