Marina- You’ve Got Mail (1998):

Taking place in a cozy bookstore during late autumn in the Upper West Side of Manhattan, “You’ve Got Mail” has the best setting for those moments when you feel like indulging in a jovial and comforting rom-com. This movie brings a refreshing spark of individuality to the worn-out enemies-to-lovers trope as there is an added twist: Kathleen (Meg Ryan) and Joe (Tom Hanks) may be enemies in real life, but online, an intimate relationship is blossoming. The involvement of the internet into the plot is a key ingredient in making “You’ve Got Mail” so one-of-a-kind. In the 1990s, online dating wasn’t nearly as normalized as it is nowadays, so the film was one of the first ever to add this aspect to the big screen, and now modern rom-coms have followed suit.

With frequent co-stars Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks (previously seen together in both “Sleepless in Seattle” and “Joe Versus the Volcano”), the movie was set for success right from the start. Their chemistry was as impeccable as in the other films mentioned, if not more. Even in scenes when their lines consisted of spiteful bickering, their banter flowed perfectly, making you believe they were meant to be despite the hateful words flowing out their mouths. If I wasn’t fully convinced that they were my favorite 90s co-stars when I watched cult-classic “Sleepless in Seattle,” I most certainly was with “You’ve Got Mail.” Their relationship was as real as it gets in film.

The relationship between both main characters in real life is quite standard for rom-coms: Kathleen is a small business bookstore owner, and Joe is part of the family behind Fox Books, a chain of huge bookstores. His multi-million dollar family company now poses a threat to Kathleen, as their new store is about to run her own out of business. However, online the two mutually decided that they’d keep information of their identities entirely secret in their email relationship under fake names “Shopgirl” and “NY152.” When they start crossing paths in real life, they hate each other, but a tangled web is slowly woven by their anonymity. Though Joe and Kathleen eventually do work past their career conflicts as their identities are gradually revealed to each other, it demonstrates that the situation that two people are in affects their perception of each other. When they were simply getting to know each other online, despite missing key details of the other’s identity, was when Joe and Kathleen really learned what the other was like personally. As career rivals, they simply let their situation as competitors blind them into assuming they knew everything about the other based on a few encounters. It really makes me wonder how many different peopleI could be closer to now, if it weren’t for the awkward positions that we have been given in each other's lives.

“You’ve Got Mail” questions relationships in the most feel-good way possible, by demonstrating how a perfect pair can act so differently based on a different set of encounters, framing all this in the wonderful nostalgia of late-fall holidays. For bookworms and those who love fall aesthetics alike, “You’ve Got Mail” is sure to deliver!

Luca- Election (1999):

In the political world, autumn doesn’t mean beautiful foliage, school beginning, or the end of summer, but rather election season. In my opinion, one of the greatest movies to focus on the time-honored tradition of American democracy isn’t a historical drama or political thriller, but rather unexpectedly, a 1999 teen comedy by the name of “Election.” Although the concept may seem simplistic on the surface, the plot of “Election” plot is layered with commentaries on not just democracy, but also morality and ethics (the distinction between which is made clear throughout the film).

Directed by satirist Alexander Payne, “Election” follows a high school student-government election in the all-American city of Omaha, Nebraska. Specifically, the movie focuses on teacher Mr. McAllister (Matthew Broderick, bringing to mind a broken-down Ferris Bueller) who is horrified by Tracy Flick (Reese Witherspoon), the ruthlessly ambitious central figure of the film, running unopposed. McAllister persuades popular football player Paul Metzler (Chris Klein) to run against Tracy. Simultaneously, Paul’s sister Tammy (Jessica Campbell) runs on a platform to dismantle the student government.

Although this may seem straightforward enough, Election becomes a much more complex film through its exploration of each character’s motivations and its examination of ethics. A prominent theme throughout the film is the extent to which sexual desire and frustration influences the titular election, most exhibited in the character of Mr. McAllister. The root of McAllister’s antipathy towards Tracy is ambiguous, and is one of the central mysteries of the film’s plot. Although he justifies it to himself as simply exasperation with her ambitiousness, McAllister is well aware of a sexual relationship between Tracy and a former colleague and friend of his. This sexual undercurrent also drives Tammy’s spiteful run for president, after her best friend and crush Lisa begins dating her brother following an unwanted romantic declaration by Tammy (“It's not like I'm a lesbian or anything. I'm attracted to the person. It's just that all the people I've been attracted to happen to be girls.”) Additionally, while Tracy runs to maintain the system and Tammy runs to dismantle it, Paul seems to be the only candidate running with a genuine interest in improving the school while in office, obviously making him the least based in reality.

“Election” also poses the question of ethics versus morality throughout the film, both hypothetically and in real-life situations, such as Tracy’s relationship with McAllister’s colleague. As the motivations and actions of the main characters become more and more questionable, we as the audience ask ourselves the same questions about ethics and morality and apply them to the characters in question.

All in all, “Election” is a lovely and funny film whose hidden complexity is exemplified by Alexander Payne’s occasionally eccentric stylistic choices. As this complex web of interactions, hidden in the banal landscape of a Nebraskan high school, is revealed, it prompts thoughts about whether or not our democracy works, what prompts someone to break their morals, and what makes a good leader.