P.S. I LOVE YOU
Love Is In The Air: Heard And Felt, But As Yet Unseen
PopcornReel.com Movie Review: "P.S. I Love You"
By Omar P.L. Moore/December 21, 2007
Music To Their Sight: Hilary Swank as Holly Kennedy and Gerard Butler in "P.S. I
Love You", directed by Richard LaGravenese. (Photo: Warner Brothers)
Richard LaGravenese directs Hilary Swank and Gerard Butler in "P.S. I Love You" which opened across the U.S. and Canada today, and the film registers initially as a comedy before taking a more serious turn. This change is not its problem however, it is the time in which it takes to get there which ultimately undoes the movie that is. At over two hours in length, the film, about Gerry Kennedy, a musician (Butler) who has been stricken with a terminal illness, who gives his wife Holly (Swank) encouragement to live on with letters from the grave, so to speak, spends more than an hour with the kinds of jokes reserved for television sitcoms like "Friends" -- and to prove that Lisa Kudrow shows up here, albeit to typically humorous effect as one of Holly's best friends -- before getting to the nitty-gritty of the journey of love and inspiration in the wake of the loss of a loved one.
"P.S. I Love You", written by Mr. Gravenese and Steven Rogers and adapted from the novel by Cecilia Ahern, tries to have its cake and eat it too, but suffers serious indigestion as a result. On the one hand, the supporting performances are more than adequate in the film, particularly Harry Connick, Jr. as a lovelorn and honest guy who just wants to do the right thing with the heart that he wears so clearly on his sleeve, to find that special someone to settle down with. Mr. Connick, quiet, awkward, yet vividly alive here as Daniel Connelly, is the best reason to see the film, while on the other hand, the lead performers Ms. Swank and Mr. Butler, aren't so great. They have flashes of the requisite chemistry, but surprisingly don't hold a similar interest for the audience. Whether that is because of the way they are introduced in the film, or because the story needed to be more tightly-hewn to them, with an elimination of the supporting roles (no less than five significant supporting characters) is a question yet unanswered, but while watching "P.S. I Love You", you feel that it is more of a trial and an ordeal than a journey to find love after loss. For sure, this film functions as a comedy -- it is no "Breaking The Waves" -- but it probably would have been more suitable as a serious and better-edited film, because Mr. LaGravenese's film becomes more interesting midway through the second hour when its tone shifts slightly.
Had there been less noise and comedic errors in the opening act and setup that trudges and bogs down the film's first sixty minutes, the film's following hour might have been far better. As it stands, Ms. Swank, whose 2007 on the big screen began with the solid film "Freedom Writers" in January, seems to have slid backwards a little, with April's "The Reaping" and now this film, which tries to tack on an all-too-convenient ending to make up for the time it wasted in its first hour.
"P.S. I Love You" is rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association of America for sexual references and brief nudity. The film's duration is two hours and six minutes. Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Gena Gershon, James Masters and Kathy Bates are among the supporting performers in Mr. LaGravenese's film.
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