A New Pairing

At the same time, another superstar comic pairing, Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, was winning over moviegoers with the help of journalist and screenwriter Nora Ephron.

In 1993’s Sleepless in Seattle, Ephron — whose 1989 rom-com When Harry Met Sally… also starred Ryan and paved a path for the ’90s romantic-comedy sensibility — unites lovely Baltimore journalist Annie and lonesome widower and single dad Sam, a Seattle transplant, via Sam’s rending story of love and loss shared over a call-in radio show. In this modern era of dating apps and photo-filters, watching Sam and Annie’s slow, steady and blessedly lust-free march to an iconic scene atop the Empire State Building is cinematic heaven for true romance lovers.

Five years later, the pair returned (this time a bit more tech savvy) in Ephron’s You’ve Got Mail. This time they play warring book peddlers — Hanks shrewd and corporate and Ryan cozy and kid-centric. Their oldfashioned, conversation-driven love exchange cultivated in the anonymity of an AOL chat room made the film as unforgettable as that piercing dial-up tone and “You’ve got mail!” announcement.