Review: P.S. I Love You

Plot: Gerry (Gerard Butler) & Holly (Hillary Swank) are a happily married couple living in Manhattan. When Gerry dies of a brain tumor, Holly finds it impossible to move on. One day, she unexpectedly receives a letter from Gerry- which reveals that shortly before dying, Gerry concocted an elaborate plan. Every month she receives a letter from Gerry containing instructions for her to follow- designed to ease her out of her grief and into a new life without him.

Review: What’s the deal with Hillary Swank? Doesn’t anyone find it odd that all of her movies fall into one of two categories- either they’re Oscar Winners like BOYS DON’T CRY or MILLION DOLLAR BABY, or they’re absolute crap like THE CORE, THE REAPING, FREEDOM WRITERS, etc. Either the film is a masterpiece, or it’s a piece of shit- no middle ground.

Sadly, P.S I LOVE YOU falls into the latter category. There are so many things wrong with the film that I don’t even really know where to begin. For one, the central idea is absolutely ludicrous. If he was dying of a brain tumor, how the hell did Gerry manage to draw up this elaborate plan for Holly to follow. Not only that- but doesn’t the whole idea seem a little sick to anyone? If a widow’s having a hard time getting over her husband’s death- the last thing she needs is to receive is a bunch of letters from beyond the grave.

Another problem is that I never for a second bought the relationship between Gerry & Holly, which was far too idealistic. I mean, Gerry’s practically a saint. Holly is constantly complaining, and yelling at him, yet all he ever does is smile and tell her that she’s cute when she’s angry. Is that what women really want? A glutton for punishment that will never question them? Also- Gerry’s supposed to be Irish, which in Hollywood means that every time he’s on screen, he’s either laughing, drinking or singing.

Probably the worst part of the film is Holly’s trip to Ireland- which naturally was planned out by Gerry before he died. In these scenes, the filmmakers seem to be telling the audience that the only way Holly will ever be happy is to seek out someone who’s EXACTLY like Gerry. Of course, this being Hollywood, she’s there less than a day before she hooks up with yet another soulful Irish musician- William (Jeffrey Dean Morgan- soon to be seen as The Comedian in WATCHMEN), who also naturally spends all of his screen time laughing, drinking, and singing. Of course- as they’re both Irish, William ends up knowing Gerry. And of course rather than being horrified as they would be in real life- everyone finds this coincidence terribly amusing.

Suffice to say, I did not enjoy P.S I LOVE YOU. I hated Swank in the film- as I finds she lacks the light touch required for romantic comedies. Butler is ok (and still ripped- this movie must of been shot right after 300), but also not really suited to this type of film. The supporting cast was not bad. I think Gina Gershon is a total fox, and she shows up as one of Holly’s best friends (and her husband is played by James Marsters- SPIKE!!!)- but doesn’t have all that much to do. Lisa Kudrow also plays a friend of Holly’s- but I hated her shallow character, and cringed very time she was on screen. Morgan is passable-, but his Irish brogue was unconvincing and seemed out of a Lucky Charms commercial. Harry Connick Jr. is also on tap- basically playing the Baxter of the film (for those unaware of what a Baxter is, check out the film THE BAXTER). Kathy Bates turns up as Holly’s mom- and does well with her thinly written role (speaking of thin- Bates looks like she’s lost A TON of weight).

Admittedly- I’m probably not the best guy to review a chick flick, as I doubt the filmmakers made this movie with a single twenty something guy like me in mind. Still- I doubt even the most passionate devotee of Grey’s Anatomy or Sex in the City would like this film.

Skip it!

My Rating: A generous 1/10