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Movie Review - P.S. I Love You (2007)
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(What this rating means)
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| Director: |
Richard LaGravenese |
| Starring: |
Hilary Swank, Gerard Butler, Lisa Kudrow, Gina Gershon, and Harry Connick Jr. |
| Rated: |
PG-13 (for sexual references and brief nudity) |
| Length: |
126 minutes |
| Genre: |
Romantic Dramedy |
| Tagline: |
Sometimes there's only one thing left to say. |
| Studio: |
Warner Bros. |
| Website: |
P.S. I Love You |
| Release: |
December 21, 2007 |
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PLOT
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Holly and Gerry are married. Gerry dies, anticlimactically, of a brain tumor. Holly doesn't really cry nor does she grieve as much as one might expect a young widow to.
But Gerry was a good guy. Before he died, he wrote Holly a series of letters that will guide her, not only through her minimal grief but in rediscovering herself. As the
letters continue to come, Holly gradually sullies the memory of her dead husband by hopping into bed with the first Irish-accented hunk she comes across. A failed attempt
to force moviegoers to cry ensues.
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STEPH'S TAKE
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Warning: I sound bitter, but for excusable reasons. I was anticipating a terribly unattractive runny nose and a deep inspiration to love the way they
usually can so eloquently portray in movies. Instead, I spent most of the movie thinking it would be THIS scene that turned the table from an absolute bummer to "that's not so bad,"
but no, it never made it to that point. Therefore, my slightly bitter side is about to be revealed with my take on the newly released movie P.S. I love You.
I was prepared, to say the least. I had listened to all of my friends as they practically regurgitated the tears they cried the night they unknowingly suffered through the movie
known as P.S. I Love You. C'mon, let's face it - I'm a girl, and a sensitive romantic at that. The Notebook left me not only red-eyed for days, but filled with a
sense of what authentic love actually looked and felt like. Perhaps I was looking for a Notebook 2 type sequel; if not that, then at least something that had me using the
wad of tissue paper Johnny Betts so thoughtfully snuck in his pocket for us (ahem, I mean for me, of course).
If nothing I have said thus far makes sense, please understand my bottom line is that I was simply disappointed. Waiting anxiously a whole two months to see a movie you can barely
stand to sit the two hours through is a slight let down. I'm sorry if that offends the bulk of my friends who apparently loooooved the movie and wouldn't mind owning it on DVD.
"Maybe it's because you saw it with a boy," they would try to justify my pessimistic response with, "and a movie critic at that! No wonder you didn't enjoy a sweet, girly movie."
Nice try, my friends; trust me, I know a tear-jerking, worthwhile love story when I see one. P.S. I Love You? Sorry, but I'll have to agree with Johnny on this one and
go ahead and rename it P.S. I Bore You. Or P.S. HAHA - you just wasted two hours and six minutes of your life; P.P.S. Maybe you'll know better next time! Oh well,
at least my friends were right on one part: it is possible to leave that movie in tears.
The movie starts out introducing us to Gerry (Gerard Butler) and Holly (Hilary Swank), a married couple, who spend the first fifteen minutes of the movie arguing over the fact
that Gerry told Holly's mom that she wasn't ready to have a baby. Typical marriage concern? Sure. An awkward start to a movie, followed by nothing sentimental with which to
capture the viewer until... wait. Yes, Gerry dies from a brain tumor and the next scene is his funeral. "Uh-oh, tissue time," I thought to myself. (five minutes go by) "Forget
that, if his own wife is not going to even shed a few tears over his dead body, then why should I?"
One of my friends claimed Holly was in shock. Yeah, well I'm in shock that I thought more of crying for him than his own wife who instead decides to drink a shot off his casket
and seemingly go on with her life. OK, so I know it's not that simple. Yes, Holly mourned Gerry's loss and spent a good bit of time cooped up in her apartment, listening to his
voice on his voicemail and watching sappy love stories on TV. Then her 30th birthday rolls around and lo and behold, an unexpected present from Gerry shows up - a recorded
message explaining that he had arranged for several letters to be given to her so that she would still have a part of him with her after he died. So she begins on her new
adventures of seeking after Gerry's letters and following where they lead her, from overcoming her fear of singing karaoke to a trip to Ireland, his hometown and the place
where they had initially met. All so romantic and intriguing, one would begin to imagine; however, in Ireland she ends up meeting and sleeping with a man named William
(Jeffrey Dean Morgan) - a good lookin' man with an Irish accent that Holly's friends did everything but literally force on top of her.
As if the idea of trying to get emotionally involved in a movie that shows the new "supposedly depressed, unable to go on with her life" widow sleeping with another man so
soon after her husband's death wasn't distasteful enough, William ends up being a member of Gerry's old band. Coincidence? Umm, yeah slightly. The whole movie was full of
too many unrealistic coincidences. It doesn't have to be a bland movie to be real. This movie was sadly just both bland and extremely unreal.
Daniel (Harry Connick Jr.) plays the role of a New York bartender and instant pursuer of the new "hot, single, and apparently ready to mingle" Holly as he is first portrayed
at Gerry's funeral, wiping down the bar and eyeing Ms. Holly Kennedy. I didn't see many tears shed from him, either. I guess there are just some rules that the viewers weren't
allowed in on. "No crying during the funeral scene; it might actually make this movie portray a sentimental theme." Who knows. Anyway, there was supposed to be an attraction
between Daniel and Holly, a new budding romance that, as I have mentioned, seems just too unrealistic. Even Johnny thought he was going to write the rest of the movie: "Oh, so
I guess she's going to fall in love with this dude now?" However, nothing sparked; there was no connection to draw the viewer in concerning the two, and honestly, Daniel
seemed like a true jerk to me. All he can think about is getting Gerry out of the picture and ridiculing Holly's motives for seeking out Gerry's letters and staying emotionally
attached to him. He just died, Daniel. Can someone please understand that already?
Long story short (or something like that) - Gerry's last letter to Holly basically says that she made his entire life, but that he would only be a chapter in hers, so she should
not be scared to fall in love again. Thus, she kisses Daniel, feels no connection, tells him so, and the next scene rolls in. If she's going to flirt, kiss, and sleep around so
soon after her husband's death, then at least make one of those men her new soulmate. Oh well, fits the entire theme of the movie perfectly: lame.
I know I have been harsh, but I really had my heart set on this. Plus, watching an overly romantic movie with my new man just might have made for an extra special evening,
but since that obviously fell through, we are bonding on our similar anti-P.S. I Love You feelings. It's quite romantic.
Another thing that my friends say is that I'm not understanding how romantic and sweet Gerry was being by going through all the trouble while he was sick to make sure each
and every letter would get to her. Yes, he was showing he loved her, yes; he was showing he cared, very true. I was just never drawn in, and I cannot apologize for that. It
didn't show Holly and Gerry's happiness and true relationship until later in the movie when you've pretty much already given up on it getting any better. Plus, at that point,
you've already seen her not cry at his funeral and her flirting with other men. Oh, sorry I can't feel sorry for a slight h-o-e.
And I'm just dogging on Holly, I loved Hilary Swank. I think she's a fantastic actress and hopefully next time she'll stick to movies like Freedom Writers or
Million Dollar Baby that have sentimental value and good reviews attached to their name which will allow her to act out her full
potential, something she was not able to do in this movie. It was a good idea for a movie; I think it's a sweet gesture of Gerry, who obviously had a lot of time on his hands
before he died (but that's beside the point) and it had extreme potential locked in its storyline and cast members; unfortunately, the end result just did not deliver.
P.S. Good news is that Lisa Kudrow played one of Holly's promiscuous friends and, as always, made me laugh, bringing a little much needed humor to this movie.
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JOHNNY'S TWO CENTS
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That. Was. Brutal. I've been dreading this one ever since Stephanie informed me that she was going to be out of town during the free screening. "Oh no," I thought to
myself, "that means I'm actually gonna have to pay big bucks for us to see this one." But God graciously put up road blocks, allowing us no free time to see it until it
finally hit the $2.50 theater. Sadly, at $5, it was still a waste.
Even though I wasn't pumped about seeing it, I thought it might be somewhat decent, and I knew my new gal was dying to see it, so I was more than willing to make her happy.
The fact that the film was a huge disappointment to her makes me hate the stupid thing even more.
I really can't add to what she said above. She nailed it. I kept quiet for most of the movie, not wanting to dampen her spirits, but I noticed she didn't seem to be
crying. Less than halfway into the movie she leaned over and said, "This isn't exactly what I was expecting." Then, at approximately the 90-minute mark, she checked
the time on her cell phone and asked, "Is the movie two hours EVEN?" I couldn't help but laugh out loud. I could at least find joy and bonding in the fact that she
wanted to leave as badly as I did.
I can't believe the Harry Connick Jr. character was portrayed so poorly. The guy was a real temper-tantrum-having douchebag, and there wasn't even a semblance of
chemistry between him and Hilary. That whole storyline felt out of place and tacked on.
As Stephanie mentioned, the concept of the movie is sweet. The execution, however, is terrible. I didn't care about a single character, a single relationship, or a
single adventure in the entire film. We're not given any time to become concerned with Gerry and Holly's marriage, and then we're given even less time to mourn over
Gerry's death. The film WANTS us to be sad; it just doesn't know how to genuinely elicit those feelings.
Oh wait, yes it does - by forcing us to waste two hours and hard-earned money to go see it! GOOD JOB, MOVIE! Mission accomplished!
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ODDS & ENDS
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- Johnny initially thought William was Javier Bardem. "What in the world?" he thought to himself, "What's Javier Bardem doing here? He went from No
Country for Old Men to this??? Sad." A few minutes later, Johnny was hit with a realization, "Ooooooooh, wait a minute! That's the dad from Supernatural!" Indeed, William
was played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan. Bardem's reputation remains intact.
- During the filming of a strip sequence, Gerard Butler's suspenders hit Hilary Swank on the forehead. She received a cut and had to be brought to a hospital where she received several
stitches.
- When Holly tries to choose between different job options, one of them is vampire slayer. Another character in the movie is played by James Marsters, who portrays the vampire Spike in
Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Hilary Swank also played in the original film of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
- Hilary Swank was in Million Dollar Baby with Clint Eastwood who was in Space Cowboys with Tommy Lee Jones who was in
No Country for Old Men with Josh Brolin who was in Hollow Man with Kevin Bacon.
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MAMA'S APPROVAL
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A few "s" bombs are dropped, along with G-d**n and other vain uses of the Lord's name. Holly has post-husband's death sex, and we see a gratuitous shot of Jeffrey Dean Morgan's naked
rear-end after he takes a shower. There's absolutely nothing here for kids.
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TRAILER COMPARISON
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Whatever.
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THE GIST
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This is strictly a chick flick. Guys will hate it. Hey, I even enjoyed The Notebook, but I could barely sit through this crap. Ladies, please, don't make this one that you
force your man to sit through. I promise you'll owe him big time.
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