P.S. I Love You

P.S., this movie will make you cry! So for any of you uber-macho guys out there who are afraid to show emotion in public do not, I repeat do not see this in theaters. You'll have to wait for the DVD. For everyone else, especially you dudes who wanna show the ladies that you are in touch with your emotions and that you embrace them, this is your film because she will be right there next to you balling her eyes out too!

This is an uncommonly good love story. It's really difficult to create a relationship on screen nowadays that is so well done it brings the cynical, media saturated, information overloaded audience members to tears; and P.S. I Love You does it over and over again.

Wisely, the entire piece will not have you in constant break down mode; they infuse the story with that ever important humor which breaks up the heaviness of the subject matter long enough for us to all catch our breath. As they say it's much easier to cry with someone after you've laughed with them. But it is in no way a lame ass "romantic comedy."

Gerry (Gerard Butler) and Holly (Hilary Swank) have the perfect marriage, which is to say that in spite of all of their problems and hardships of which there are many, the two always manage to come back to what brought them together in the first place; an overwhelming amount of true love and affection for the other. And as with all cinematic love that is pure and true, it must be destroyed under tragic, unavoidable circumstances. For Holly and Gerry it's the fact that Gerry has a brain tumor that takes his life. Before he dies though, he makes sure that his wife will be able to go on with her life by writing her a series of letters that are scheduled to show up at different times throughout the year following his death. These letters urge her to move on and to do things with her life other than mourning his passing.

Can you possibly think of something more romantic? A man could never be that romantic if he were still alive. To know that his own life was coming to such an early and tragic end and to spend his last days thinking only about her and her happiness, that's the dude we all wanna be or that we all wanna marry. I know I can't wait to meet my Gerry!

As expected this stellar cast performs brilliantly together. Oscar winner Hilary Swank carries the movie with a grace and dignity that makes it possible for the audience to connect with her on a very real, very personal level; without that the film would never have worked as well as it did. Lisa Kudrow is back once

again in a group of three girlfriends as the gal still searching for her husband-to-be and yes she's definitely spouting a lot of Phoebe-isms, but let's face it, we loved Phoebe and we love her so it all works out! Gina Gershon plays the married friend and man I don't know what she's been doing lately but she looks fantastic! She looks about 10 years younger than the last time I saw her. And without a doubt my favorite leading lady in the film is the indominatable Kathy Bates as Holly's mother. She could be reading me the phone book and I think with the right intonations, I'd be moved to tears. She's just a phenomenal actress and she has finally found a piece of material here that is worthy of her.

Of course what is a great love story without the guys? Gerard Butler is seriously the epitome of sexy in this role. He's got the looks, the accent, the bad boy charm and basically wrote the book on romance. I think 300 made guys stand up and take notice of him and P.S. I Love You will be the film that will have women falling at his feet for years to come. Harry Connick Jr. makes a welcome return to the big screen as Holly's shoulder to cry on stuck in the 'friend zone' pal Daniel and holds his own opposite the gorgeous Hilary Swank.

It was really wonderful to see that the magic behind Hollywood Romances wasn't dead. It is very much alive and kicking in P.S. I Love You and I hope the audience shows up for it and gives it the support it will need to prove that the silly prat fall style romantic comedies aren't the end all be all of the genre. C'mon H-Wood, I dare you to make me cry again!

Movie Grade: A-

Synopsis:

Holly Kennedy (Hilary Swank) is beautiful, smart, and married to the love of her life"”a passionate, funny and impetuous Irishman named Gerry (Gerard Butler). So when Gerry’s life is taken by an illness, it takes the life out of Holly. The only one who can help her is the person who is no longer there. Nobody knows Holly better than Gerry. So it’s a good thing he planned ahead. Before he died, Gerry wrote Holly a series of letters that will guide her, not only through her grief but in rediscovering herself. The first message arrives on Holly’s 30th birthday in the form of a cake and, to her utter shock, a tape recording from Gerry, who proceeds to order her to get out and “celebrate herself.” In the weeks and months that follow, more letters from Gerry are delivered in surprising ways, each sending her on a new adventure and each signing off in the same way: P.S. I Love You. Holly’s mother

(Kathy Bates) and best friends, Sharon (Gina Gershon) and Denise (Lisa Kudrow), begin to worry that Gerry’s letters are keeping Holly tied to the past, but, in fact, each letter is pushing her further into a new future. With Gerry’s words as her guide, Holly embarks on a touching, exciting and often hilarious journey of rediscovery in a story about marriage, friendship and how a love so strong can turn the finality of death into new beginning for life.