For those craving a lush, richly romantic movie, the new American film ‘P.S I Love You’ fits the bill. ‘P.S I Love You’ has been directed by Richard LaGravenese from a script jointly written by the director and Steven Rogers, and adapted from the novel by Cecelia Ahern.
Hilary Swank plays the high spirited Holly Kennedy whose life comes to a sudden thud, when. not long to her 30th birthday, Gerry (Gerard Butler), her husband to be, dies of a brain tumour. Holly slides into depression mode and her mother Patricia (Kathy Bates) and her best friends, Denise (the wonderful Lisa Kudrow) and Sharon (Gina Gershon) are fearful that she won’t ever come out of it.
Holly’s life is pretty much contained within her lonely Manhatten apartment until her 30th birthday party. Holly finds a tape encased inside the birthday cake, She plays it and finds out that the tape has been made by Gerry for her. In it Gerry gives Holly his love and tells her that it’s time now to start letting go of him, and to start going back into the world! The cassette represents the first of ten encouraging communications that Gerry has left for Holly, and which are conveyed, through different ways by Holly’s mum, Patricia. Holly does make it to the ‘other side’ from her grief, helped by a holiday that Gerry has arranged for her, and some new entanglements with men, including the suave Daniel Connelly, played by Harry Connick Jnr.
‘P.S I Love You’ has a good, breezy pace, and flows well. In some ways it reminded me of Paul Mazursky’s ‘An Unmarried Woman’ starring Jill Clayburgh, with the woman finding a new independence and strength.
Hilary Swank gave a good, strong performance in the lead role, Gerard Butler was full of Irish charm and bravado as Gerry. Kathy Bates breezed through her role as Holly’s controlling mum, Patricia.
Lisa Kudrow was great as Holly’s friend, Denise, and stole the movie with her bar scene vignettes with prospective suitors. Denise fires away certain ‘bottom line’ questions to the guys, are you single? are you gay?, do you work?, and if they make it through this criteria, then she kisses them, and tests what they’re like as kissers. At any time during the process, when she doesn’t get the response she wants, she leaves!
It’s tough but kind of true and very funny!
Sure, ‘P.S I Love You’ isn’t a classic, and didn’t set the world on fire, but it was warm hearted and fun, and it isn’t every day that you see a film featuring a life coach, of sorts, giving guidance from beyond the grave!
