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Review #590 of 365
Movie Review of P.S. I Love You (2007) [PG-13] 126 minutes
WIP™ Scale: $13.75
Where Viewed: Harkins Ciné Capri at Northfield 18, Denver, CO
When Seen: 23 December 2007
Time: 10:05 pm
DVD Release Date: 6 May 2008 (click date to purchase or pre-order)
Film's Official Website • Film's Trailer
Soundtrack: Download now from 
- or - order the CD below
Directed by: Richard LaGravenese (Freedom Writers)
Screenplay by: Richard LaGravenese (Freedom Writers) • Steven Rogers (Kate & Leopold) based on the novel by Cecelia Ahern
Featured Cast (Where You Might Remember Him/Her From):
Hilary Swank (The Reaping) • Gerard Butler (300) • Lisa Kudrow (Happy Endings) • Gina Gershon (What Love Is) • James Marsters ("Smallville") • Kathy Bates (The Golden Compass) • Harry Connick Jr (Bug) • Jeffrey Dean Morgan ("Supernatural") • Dean Winters ("Rescue Me") • Anne Kent ("Fair City") • Brian McGrath (Alexander)
Click for 'Review Lite' [a 150-word or less review of this film]
Click to see photos from the Premiere of P.S. I Love You
Click to read the spoiler points for P.S. I Love You
Before the opening titles roll, in short but elegant glimpses, we meet the loving couple of Holly and Gerry Kennedy (Hilary Swank and Gerard Butler respectively). They are not the perfect couple, but they are perfect for each other and very deeply in love. They married 'too young' or so believed her mother, Patricia (Kathy Bates), and his parents, Rose (Anne Kent) and Martin (Brian McGrath). Fortunately, their love got them past all of the disapproval. But, just as one is getting to adore them and their chemistry, the film then opens with a memorial service. Jerry is in a lovely urn designed by Holly herself, and friends have gathered at Patricia's Pub to honor and celebrate his life. The bulk of the substance of the story then hones in on Holly's future without Gerry.
Both wonderfully engaging and spirited, the film respects the intelligence of the audience and steers clear of the trite or mundane making it one of the warmest and satisfying 'lighter' holiday films.
Richard LaGravenese delivers a wonderful dramedy with moving portrayals of well-drawn characters. Given Hilary Swank's résumé, it will always be a challenge for her to find roles that exceed the brilliance of her most famous two. This one represents, perhaps, one we might imagine to more like the 'real' Hilary. The character is as multi-faceted and realistic when it comes to the depth of a real woman as ever to which we might be treated. At one point, her character admits the greatest secret of the feminine gender, they actually do not know what they want, hence why men toil away trying to please and never getting it quite right. She fills the role well with charm, grace, humor, and vulnerability that, given the circumstances of her character's life, make her loveable and real. As for Gerard Butler, don't worry that his Gerry dies in the first two minutes, he pops up throughout both in flashbacks of Holly remembering her past with him and sometimes in her imagination that he's still right there with her. It's hard to imagine this former hero general of the 300 in this comedic, loving role at first, but he slips into it like putting on a pair of favorite shoes. Shoes, incidentally, play a big role in the film—no spoilers on that here though. The two make for a wonderful couple even after his untimely demise. Lisa Kudrow is hilarious and droll as usual as one of Holly's best friends. Her other, Sharon McCarthy, is played by Gina Gershon. Together they offer Holly strength and support. Their characters, all three, are strong, well-written women, some of the more worthy and least stereotypical in films this year. Both actresses stood out despite this being somewhat more of an ensemble cast. Meanwhile, there's Kathy Bates, lately taken to motherly roles where she can offer up some of the most stern looks of disapproval embedded with a deep and nurturing love ever mustered on film. Here she's a single mom—husband left when Holly was a child—who owns and runs a bar. She wants absolutely nothing but the best for her two daughters, though she's not as emotionally available as she might have been were it not for the roles she had to fill as they were growing up. Instrumental in several key scenes, she brings warmth, strength, and understanding that only a mother can give a child to the role. Other than Gerard Butler's Gerry, it is the male characters that take a back seat, more like third seat in a big SUV in this film. Harry Connick Jr. deftly plays the guy desperately hoping to catch Holly's rebound but seemingly unaware that being the rebound date of a widow might not be the best position for someone truly hoping to find love. He's funny but completely un-charming--sort of the anti-Jerry. James Marsters plays Sharon's husband and Gerry's business partner--he's classic but mostly window dressing. Probably the standout in the male side of the cast other than Butler who mostly steals the scenes he's in, was Jeffrey Dean Morgan who plays William, a former bandmate of Gerry's from back in the day. He's just about as charming as can be, and he causes quite a stir of passions when the three girlfriends take a trip to Ireland.
P.S. I Love You probes the ranges of emotions from start to finish of a couple torn apart by the death of one, and how the living partner has to grow to become accustomed to the life event and learn to life on after. With humor and humility, the story tenderly permits Holly to grow beyond not only her loss but into a realm of self-discovery to finally find her true passion when it comes to her life's work. Both wonderfully engaging and spirited, the film respects the intelligence of the audience and steers clear of the trite or mundane making it one of the warmest and satisfying 'lighter' holiday films.
Click for 'Review Lite' [a 150-word review of this film]
Other Projects Featuring P.S. I Love You (2007)
Cast Members
Hilary Swank
• Gerard Butler • Lisa KudrowGina Gershon
• James Marsters • Kathy BatesHarry Connick Jr
• Jeffrey Dean Morgan • Dean WintersAnne Kent
Director
Richard LaGravenese
Writers
Richard LaGravenese
• Steven Rogers| Book | DVD | VHS |
| Kindle |
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