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P.S. I Love You | 
| Director: Richard Lagravenese
Actors: Gerard Butler, Hillary Swank, Lisa Kudrow, Gina Gershon, James Marsters
Studio: Warner Bros.
Buy New: $3.99
Rating:  134 reviews
Sales Rank: 53
Genre: Comedy
Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: Video Download
Running Time: 127 Minutes
ASIN: B00190OHD6
Theatrical Release Date: December 21, 2007
Release Date: June 18, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Synopsis:
A grieving young widow (Hillary Swank) discovers that her late husband (Gerard Butler, "Phantom of the Opera") has left her a list of 10 tasks to complete, revealed in posthumously delivered messages, intended to ease her pain and start a new life. Also starring Academy Award-winner Kathy Bates ("Misery," "About Schmidt"), Emmy Award-winner and music superstar Harry Connick, Jr. ("Bug," "Independence Day"), Gina Gershon ("Face/Off," "Bound"), James Marsters (TV's "Buffy the Vampire Slayer") and Emmy Award-winner Lisa Kudrow (TV's "Friends," "Analyze This"). Directed by Richard LaGravenese ("Freedom Writers"). |
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| Customer Reviews: Read 129 more reviews...
A Nice Little Surprise Film May 11, 2008
Grady Harp (Los Angeles, CA United States)
115 out of 122 found this review helpful
Marketing P.S. I LOVE YOU was a hit/miss situation. The general trailer and the billboards seem to set the audience up for a sappy tearjerker. But happily what happens in this film is not the expected 'widowed person communicating with the dead love out of failure to get on with life' tale, but instead a look into the importance of friendship, family, and adjusting to the incomparable loss. Credit the original novel by Cecelia Ahern as adapted for the screen by Steven Rogers writer/director Richard LaGravenese for making what so easily have been a sappy, maudlin, whining tale into a touching one of human emotions with a sense of reality mixed with a mildly implausible situation, and a series of character studies that emphasize the importance of support in the time of grief.
Holly (Hilary Swank) and Gerry (Gerard Butler) Kennedy are a married couple with goals and frustrations and a huge dollop of passionate love, surrounded by friends and family. The tragedy happens just as the movie starts: Gerry has died of a brain tumor leaving the copeless Holly alone with her memories and self-inflicted regrets. But Gerry, knowing he was a terminal patient, devised his own plan to help Holly through that first year of grief: he left letters in various forms and places, advising Holly how to learn about his family and how to get on with life. Holly's mother (Kathy Bates) owns a bar and has supported her little family since Holly's father deserted his family years ago. In the bar is another injured soul named Daniel (Harry Connick Jr.) who fancies Holly but realizes she is far from ready to think about dating. Holly's friends Denise (Lisa Kudrow) and Sharon (Gina Gershon) accompany Holly to Gerry's pre-planned trip to his home in Ireland to meet the in-laws Holly never knew. While in Ireland Holly reminisces on the magic of first meeting Gerry, meets Gerry's parents as well as Gerry's best friend William (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and through it all manages to appreciate the gift of PS I Love You letters and reminders Gerry has left for her. And she ultimately finds closure to her loss.
The cast is strong and makes these at times strained characters into lovable people: Hilary Swank has made a successful entrance into the feminine lead role and is balanced to perfection by Butler, Morgan, Connick, Bates, Kudrow and Gershon. They make the implausible plausible and deliver a love story that goes beyond the level of superficial to join the ranks of warm and tender memorable slices of life. It is surprisingly good! Grady Harp, May 08
PS I will always love you January 5, 2008
R. Kyle (USA)
83 out of 99 found this review helpful
The story begins with a fight. Holly (Swank) is running up a seemingly endless flight of stairs with Gerry (Butler) in hot pursuit. He's apologizing, but like a typical male, he's really not quite sure what he did wrong--he just wants to make up and not sleep in the bathtub.
Nine years' marriage and they don't have a lot to show--no kids, no careers, and only a five flight walkup. But, it's obvious that Holly and Gerry love each other very much.
The next scene is Gerry's wake. It's a bittersweet affair--and I confess to laughing when I heard the ironic "Fairytale of New York" (Gerry's favorite song) played and sung to by his priest.
A few weeks' later, the letters begin. While the film only shows Gerry's life and Holly's impressions of his 'ghost', we realize he'd understood his cancer would take him and planned to help Holly get through it past the grave. His letters encourage her to get out, sing Karaoke, even go to Ireland. Those missives literally help her find her dreams and go on with her life.
"PS I love you" is what I expected--and more. The cast, scenery, and especially the music all fit well together to elicit tears--and yes, occasional laughter.
Gerard Butler is fabulous as always. He's one of the best new actors around and I hope to see him for many years to come. I didn't expect that he could sing--and he does an excellent job on "Galway Girls."
In my opinion, Hillary Swank is the best part of the film. She's not your typical Hollywood ingenue. She's sometimes awkward, she doesn't always look perfect, and yet her ability to convey emotions from the highs to the lows very impressive. When she comes home from the funeral alone, picks up her cell phone and just keeps calling her home phone to hear Gerry's voice over and over on the answering machine literally brought me to tears.
Jeffrey Dean Morgan as the big teddy bear Billy Gallagher was also great. You've seen him before if you watched "Grey's Anatomy" playing Denny Duquette. I'm very glad to see him getting silver screen roles. If you like him, look for him in 2008 in "The Accidental Husband."
Only one warning--take some tissues with you. This film will make you cry--and occasionally laugh so hard you'll have tears in your eyes, too.
She Gets Letters, She Gets Letters December 25, 2007
Chris Pandolfi (Los Angeles, CA)
31 out of 40 found this review helpful
As hopelessly contrived and predictable as "P.S. I Love You" is, it's still a charming, touching romantic comedy. The most surprising thing about it is Hilary Swank, whose resume of serious films has made a humorous role seem an unlikely choice. She makes full use of her softer, sillier side, playing a character that's loveable and irritating at the same time. I say this in spite of the fact that serious undertones run through the film, as they always do in romantic comedies; after losing her husband to cancer, Swank's character spends the rest of the film trying to find herself (for lack of a non-cliched term). The twist is that her husband is posthumously guiding her with a series of handwritten letters, all of which were so strategically located that only a well-executed plan could see it through. A sweet but nonetheless baffling idea: How could a terminally ill man carry off something this elaborate in such a short period of time?
Never mind--I was still moved by the light-hearted sentimentality of the story, so I have to give credit where credit is due. The film opens in wintertime New York City with Holly Kennedy (Swank) storming home, absolutely furious. Right behind her is her Irish husband, Jerry (Gerard Butler), who knows he's said something to offend Holly but doesn't know what. It isn't until they enter their apartment that they really let loose: Holly is offended because Jerry commented on her waiting to have children. Now back in their apartment, everything he says gets misconstrued in some way, and a full-blown fight ensues. It isn't long before they make up, however, and by the time they do, Jerry promises his wife that he isn't going anywhere, despite their financial troubles, despite their current job situations. After nine years, he still loves her. He'll always love her, no matter what.
Naturally, the very next scene takes place at his memorial service. The audience is thankfully spared the unnecessary melodrama of his failing health and eventual death; no such scenes are included in this film. The filmmakers wisely chose to focus on what happens afterwards with Holly, who--as you might have guessed--is so grief-stricken that she shuts herself off and lets herself go. It isn't until her thirtieth birthday that things begin to change; as her worried family and friends sit by her side, a birthday cake is delivered with a mini cassette recorder taped to the inside of the box. Holly presses the Play button and hears Jerry's voice explaining that he wrote her a series of letters as he was dying. Holly will receive them all over a period of time, and each one will instruct her to do something bold and adventurous. Basically, his words will push her into living her life without focusing so much on his death.
The rest of the film is all about Holly fulfilling her husband's last requests, from singing in a karaoke bar to meeting his parents back in his native Ireland (where--you guessed it--another letter waits). Her friends and family offer as much support as they can, all while engaged in their own minor subplots. Her best friend, Denise (Lisa Kudrow), is desperate to find Mr. Right, so desperate that she openly asks potential dates about their relationship status, their financial status, and their sexual orientation. Holly's mother, Patricia (Kathy Bates), loves her daughter but has trouble accepting Jerry's postmortem plan. She was never fully accepting of him to begin with; he and Holly married at young ages, meaning that a lot could have gone wrong. And Patricia definitely understands the pain of losing a husband (albeit under much different circumstances).
The most interesting side character is Daniel (Harry Connick, Jr.), who works for Holly's mother at a local bar. He claims to have a syndrome: his social filter is defective, meaning he'll say anything to anyone at anytime. He openly tells Holly that she's hot, that she's a terrible singer, and that he's getting sick of hearing about Jerry all the time. Part of the truth is obvious--he has feelings for Holly. The rest of the truth is not so clear-cut--he, too, has been deeply wounded by a past relationship. From this alone, the two are emotional matches. That doesn't necessarily mean that they would work as a couple, especially with the inclusion of William (Jeffery Dean Morgan), the man Holly meets on her trip to Ireland. So the question is raised: Will Holly and Daniel find romance in the midst of tragedy? Will Holly allow herself to love again, or even to let her life go in a new direction?
As fresh and exciting as I'm making this sound, the reality is that "P.S. I Love You" is a fairly routine story of love, loss, and emotional rebirth. That doesn't make it a bad movie by any means; in all honesty, I found it quite satisfying. Most of this has to do with Hilary Swank, who impressed me with her ability to transcend the heavy-handed, solemn movie roles she's known for. But the rest of the cast does a decent job, as well, doing justice to a well-established cinematic formula. I also appreciated the letter-writing plot point, simply because it was cleverly (if strangely) executed. Some may feel that Jerry's letter writing is a method of control, but do you honestly think that a romantic comedy would go that far? It's not control so much as it's a way to nudge Holly in the right direction--I believe that, were it not for his letters, she would mourn the rest of her life. And is it any coincidence that he ends every letter with the film's title?
 Read the book instead January 2, 2008
Tracy Vest (Northern California)
25 out of 32 found this review helpful
Holly and Gerry Kennedy (Hillary Swank and Gerard Butler) have been married nearly a decade and when he is suddenly torn from her, she gets a gift from beyond - monthly letters penned by Gerry to help her get through her first year without him. They urge her on to do stuff she normally wouldn't do - like attempt karaoke again after a disastrous past try; go on a trip with the girls; and he even encourages her to not close herself off, but to open herself up to the possiblility of falling in love again.
Lacking a simple thing as chemistry between the two lead characters (or the potential new love interests for that matter), the movie version of "PS I Love You" falls flat and never really takes off. From the first ten minutes - one of their many arguments designed to show what a "real" couple they are - to the cheesy flashbacks to highlight their initial meeting. It just made me wonder how the heck they got together. And Swank's attempts at displaying her grief in a prolonged arc just didn't work - it was too contrived and unbelievable. She was channeling Diane Keaton in her annoyingly infamous crying scene in "Something's Gotta Give." I could not be more disappointed in the movie. I was expecting a romantic comedy-drama in the vein of "Ghost," but instead it was just a mediocre story. The only time I shed a tear was when she kept calling his phone just to hear his voice - it seemed really natural, unlike the majority of her performance. Other stand outs were Kathy Bates as her mother and Lisa Kudrow providing comic relief. James Marsden (Spike from "Buffy") as Gerry's best friend is completely unrecognizable in a very understated performance.
Side note - did anyone else wonder why in the heck she packed up all his clothes and mailed them to Ireland? That must have cost a fortune.
 great idea, bad execution December 19, 2007
AIROLF (USA)
23 out of 31 found this review helpful
Unfortunately, this movie was poorly cast. The storyline is there, the idea is exciting and genuinely romantic. The cast, principals in particular is really off. there is no chemistry between Gerrard Butler and Hilary Swank. It comes down to Hilary Swank's inability to be a romantic leading lady. It's hard to imagine her romantically with anyone and Gerard Butler doesn't come through for both of them. Harry Connick Jr., who used to be a gorgeous crooner, from Hope Floats to a reoccurring role on Will and Grace has now turned into an overweight guy who is getting second-hand roles. Gina Gershon, who is usually great in each of her performances, is plagued by bad face impressions. James Marsters is extremely underused. Lisa Kudrow, the comedic light of the film, shows promise but could be a lot funnier and is generally a lot funnier in all her other roles. The only interaction that makes sense is that between Kathy Bates' character and Hilary Swank's. Their mother-daughter relationship is shaky but gets the much-needed boost at the end. The admirable features of the movie are all due to what must be genuinely good source material, i.e. the novel it is based on. The idea that the heroine isn't dependant on the guy for her salvation, but, in fact, looses herself in him is gutsy. The fact that her involvement with the love of her life stunts her ability to find herself and that it's his death that releases her is so fascinating to see on the screen and so real, that's it's scary. I only wished they would focus more on this and develop it. If they had only embraced it! Still, as far as romantic comedies go, it's refreshing to see that every once in a while there comes a movie that doesn't end with a happily ever union.
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