Maintenance Required

Well if you ever seen You Got Mail with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, it's just like that just with cars. The script of how things happen is so identical it's crazy, like did they not think nobody would notice smh. The movie is kinda plan and very cheesy at times, you do get into it a little though because of the characters however it falls pretty flat and the You Got Mail thing was disappointing.

This movie has the same exact plot as "You've got mail". Given that, it doesn't hold a candle to the original. However, I found the actors and characters were all likable and the movie was watchable.

I thought they did a good job of giving the characters enough depth/development to care about them. I also thought that while the movie is populated with arch types they weren't over-done so not annoying.

A nice light watch.

This came available streaming on Prime. I am a big Petsch fan, she was so good at creating her duplicitous character in the TV series "Riverdale," so I'd like this movie even if it isn't any good.

In truth it isn't very good, but Petsch really shines as Charley, the mechanic trying hard to keep her deceased dad's mechanic shop open in Oakland, California.

Where the original 1940 movie used snail mail, and the 1998 update used email, this one uses online chat rooms where anonymous people can share their mutual interests just using code names.

As Charlie struggles with her business finances a nationwide chain opens a similar, cheaper shop down the street. They even refer to it as "the shop around the corner." As in the previous versions, the person she had been chatting with online about cars is also the one attempting to put her out of business.

In another nod to the 1998 movie, a new women's shop is opened called "You've Got Nails."

The acting is fine but the script is marginal and not always authentic to the situations. Somewhat of a disappointment but I remain a big Petsch fan, she just needs movies with better scripts. She shares the blame, she is listed as the Executive Producer.

Being "realistic" for a minute, there are lots of people in the business - actors, producers, directors, etc - that need work and income so movies like this one get made as a shortcut way to do that. A re-tread can't be great but it can be suitably entertaining and this one has some entertainment value if you don't expect too much.

The movie was a nice reworking of previous films "Shop Around the Corner" and "You Got Mail". Decently acted and a nice reference to a certain Steve McQueen movie with her car. Some classic car buffs will be little upset about what the male lead does with his classic truck. I enjoyed the film either way.

I have several requests for those considering a modern take or reboot on classic films. Firstly, please make sure your casting reflects some qualities of reality. I didn't dislike anyone in the film, and most were competent actors (I'll get back to that), but most were not believable in the roles they were cast in. Having gone to many garages in my life (including one run by mostly women), I can say they have little relation to what is portrayed in this film. In my view, this was a missed opportunity to mix the plot of "You've Got Mail" with "Pygmalion" by using the typical male mechanic stereotype superimposed on a female garage cast and the overly refined and arrogant characteristics of a business-based "Henry Higgins" type male into the 'Beau' business character in the film. It was a missed opportunity that the writers failed to see, and instead, they went with a poor imitation of "You've Got Mail" that becomes dull very quickly.

Secondly, the actors were competent, and the cinematography was competent. This leaves us with the problem of poor scripting that would have been better done by an AI generator than it has been done in this film. The script lets down the actors and is ultimately a poor insult to film-goers everywhere. It lacks originality. You will watch it and think, "Why am I watching a bad copy of 'You've Got Mail'?"...Ultimately, this thought left me thinking "Why did I put this on?" just before I turned it off before the film was halfway in.