P.S. I Love You

This is a heartfelt love story with good music, amazing scenery in Ireland and Gerard Butler, Harry Connick, Jr., and Jeffrey Dean Morgan. This movie has pretty much everything a girl (at least this girl) could want. The friendships between the women are realistic - they get mad at each other and then work it out. The parent/child relationships are complicated - also realistic. I highly recommend this movie.

Gerry and Holly married while they were young and free of worries. Years later they feel the pressure as the reality of marriage and all it entails kicks in. The scene starts off with Gerry (Gerard Butler) and Holly (Hillary Swank) emerging from the subway walking towards their home. The couple is arguing about their different views on life with emphasis on children, money and getting their dream home. The argument heats up to the point where Gerry storms out and quickly rushes back in and they fell in each other's arms and make wild, passionate love.

The credit rolls in and the next scene is that of Gerry's wake. The viewers are told that he has died of brain tumour at the young age of 35. The next three weeks see a decline in Holly as we see her spiralling down, crying and watching black and white movies, suffering from hallucinations of her late husband. Then as she sings along to Judy Garland, her mother (Kathy Bates) and best friends (Lisa Kudrow and Gina Gershon) walk in reminding her that it was her 30th birthday. They open a cake from Gerry and Holly thinks it's a prank until they play the accompanying tape recorder where Gerry tells her of his plan for her, how he has written letters which will arrive on various occasions. Those letters become a source of strength for her as she follows his advice and finds herself doing things she would never have thought herself. While Gerry has planned for the letters to serve as a guide for Holly to figure out what she wants in life, they serve as a way for the viewers to find out more about the couple and their beginnings.

The tasks include a trip to Ireland where we are treated to a spectacular view of the countryside and Ireland's splendor come to life. Here we see Holly meet another Irishman who turns out to be an old friend of Gerry's. We find out about her first meeting with Gerry and it is one of those moments that make a romantic movie truly heartmelting. Hillary Swank portrays the grieving and lost widow quite well and the supporting characters were good and added some much needed laughter. The highlight for me though was Gerard Butler who was just truly charming. I think I am now officially a drooling fan. That smile is enough to weaken any woman's knees and any woman would understand how Holly could have fallen in love with a perfect stranger. I thought he was great as King Leonidas in 300 (Full Screen Edition) yelling out "This is Sparta!" in his almost naked glory. But now he has been elevated to real sweetheart material after seeing him in this movie. And God I love a man who can sing.

P.S. I LOVE YOU, while far from perfect, is more than your average run-of-the-mill romantic movie. While I find that the whole letters after death thing lacked plausibility (the cynical may even find it creepy), the idea is simply clever. It provided the sentimentalism that is certain to leave many readers teary and satisfied with the film.

Hillary Swank is incapable of staring in a bad film. Just rent the movie. And who knew Gerard Butler(King Leonidas) could pull of a great comedic performance and sweep Hillary Swank off her feet. The dude can act. I hate to admit it, but he gave my wife swollen eyes. I think I better take singing lessons, and start going back to the gym. Rent it, buy it, just make sure you see the movie. Hillary Swank is going to have at least another two academy awards under her belt by the time she is ready to retire. This is another classy choise to ad to her resume.

P.S. I Love You is a chick flick if ever there was one, and it employed a bunch of talented people who make it look really good. I am the type of female moviegoer who didn't see any problem with Sean Connery playing the Mufti in The Wind and the Lion because he looked so good doing it. Gerard Butler in this role is just as mesmerizing and intoxicating and is able to muster an Irish accent part of the time. There is also more eye candy. Not since Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands have I felt guilty at having fun watching a movie about a grieving widow. It is a comedy, isn't it.

It is not a perfect film, but it is enjoyable for all the emotional buttons it push and how it tickles the mind. I loved the casting. Hilary Swank should do more comedy. Her voice is suited to it. It was fun to James Marsters being human and American. Nellie McKay is wonderful. The line --There is no such thing as a vampire slayer - might not be the funniest line but it tickled. The production value is high. I enjoyed most of the sound track. A couple of married men saw it with their wives and each recommended it to me on separate occasions. The message of holistic love about life is fruit for thought. Yes, I did cry a little. Also, I am giving the game of Snaps a try as a party game. Oh, this movie introduced me to the beautiful songs of Laura Izibor.

If you needed a theme to match other movies with this, I would pick some of the old ones Holly watches. You could have a letter theme and watch it with The Love Letter. For an Irish theme In America and Into the West both havie a theme of bereavement. Dona Flor and her Two Husbands is a lot sexier and really goes for comedy, very faithly like the book by Jorge Amado.

I was looking forward to a love story, but ended up wasting time watching one of the top 10 worst movies ever.
Why would straight woman spend time at a gay man bar? The Hillary Swank character's husband isn't dead 5 minutes and already she's out man hunting. Hillary and her hubby were arguing in the beginning they couldn't afford to have a baby, yet hubby can afford tickets to Ireland for Hillary and her 2 friends. The man is dying of brain cancer, yet is well enough to write and send all these letters. PHONEY!!!! OH...and what was with the annoying sister? Who hired that girl???
I didn't even bother watching to the end b/c a person can only take so much torture.