Watch Quentin Tarantino and Stephen Colbert discuss their love for You've Got Mail

(Image credit: Late Show)

published 16 December 2015

It was confessional time on Tuesday's Late Show, and director Quentin Tarantino had a pretty good one, telling Stephen Colbert that he's actually a big fan of romantic comedies. "There's something about watching a rom-com on an airplane flight," he explained, adding that you seem to get "more emotional when you're three miles high in the air," and often he'll end up "openly weeping" at sappy movies. "Sometimes I'll feel mad to be successfully manipulated like that," Colbert said. Tarantino disagreed. "I am such a fan of audience manipulation by filmmakers," he said. "I feel like that's half of my job as a director," and at the moment he's crying at a movie, he's genuinely touched and enjoying the emotional ride.

"I wept through the entirety of You've Got Mail — that's my confession," Colbert said, and he and Tarantino found a piece of common ground. Tarantino liked the film so much, he said, he defended it to a bunch of serious film critics, and not just because Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan are an adorable couple. You can watch the rom-com fandom unfold below. Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.