Today’s quick review: P.S. I Love You. Holly (Hilary Swank) and Gerry (Gerard Butler) are a young, loving couple with their whole lives ahead of them. But their future together is cut tragically short when Gerry dies from a brain tumor. Holly wallows in grief until Gerry sends her one last gift from beyond the grave: a series of letters that help her enjoy her life, remember their time together, and ultimately move on.
P.S. I Love You is a romantic comedy about a woman trying to recover from the death of her husband. Hilary Swank stars as Holly Kennedy, who’s left to pick up the pieces of her life with the help of her mother Patricia (Kathy Bates), her friend Daniel (Harry Connick, Jr.), and the letters left by Gerry. P.S. I Love You is an optimistic movie that looks at the grieving process, the moments that make a relationship, and the lingering impact of love.
P.S. I Love You strikes a nice tonal balance. The humor is spontaneous and imperfect, playing naturally off the characters and their quirks. The drama is moving without ever getting too bleak. Holly and Gerry are an odd couple but a believable one, and the pain Holly feels at the loss of her husband is one of the clearest wins for the movie. The movie also does a few clever things with its premise, taking Holly and the viewer on a miniature adventure.
The catch is that all of this results in a movie that’s highly subject to taste. The premise can be overly sentimental or even a little morbid for the wrong viewer. The humor is funny enough in the moment, but it doesn’t have the timeless quality of true classics. The lead couple won’t click for some people, particularly Gerry’s devil-may-care attitude and Holly’s awkward, halting as she tries to move on.
P.S. I Love You is a solid pick for fans of romance. The combination of a touching premise and irreverent humor lets it hit a wide range of emotional notes, while its capable script and likable lead couple help it live up to the promises it makes. The movie has enough idiosyncrasies that it will simply fall flat for some viewers, but it gets enough right that anyone interested should give it a shot.
For a more varied perspective on love, try Love Actually. For another romance about a dead loved one, try Ghost.
7.0 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it the same for well-rounded romance.