“Let’s arm wrestle.” —Miss Scattergoods
Today’s quick review: The Love Letter. Helen (Kate Capshaw), the owner of a bookstore in the town of Loblolly-by-the-Sea, is driven to distraction when she finds an anonymous love letter in her store. Captivated by its writing, Helen convinces herself that it was written for her by Johnny (Tom Everett Scott), her young employee. But as their relationship blooms, it drives a wedge between her and George (Tom Selleck), her childhood friend.
The Love Letter is a romance about an anonymous love letter and the impact it has on the residents of a small seaside town. Everyone who reads the letter is touched by its passion, kindling several relationships as Helen and her friends try to guess who wrote it. The Love Letter aims to be a light look at the unpredictable course of life and the complexities of romance. However, its story and characters leave something to be desired.
The Love Letter has an ambivalent plot that never quite comes together. Helen dithers between Johnny, a handsome man who is much younger than her, and George, a father just going through a divorce. The story is strewn with other relationships, from Helen’s prior marriage to the many romantic pursuits of her best friend Janet (Ellen DeGeneres). But none of the relationships, major or minor, is romantic enough to carry the story.
As a result, The Love Letter ends up bouncing between subplots without properly resolving any of them. Every time the movie starts to run out of steam, it throws in another romantic wrinkle by having a new character find the love letter and draw the wrong conclusions. In principle, The Love Letter shows love in many different forms, some hopeful and some tinged with regret. But it lacks the commitment needed to see these themes through.
The Love Letter holds modest appeal for fans of messy romances without tidy answers. Its light tone and romantic entanglements give it something to offer. But for all the time it spends building up a large cast and their relationships with each other, the movie has disappointingly little payoff. Viewers who are looking for a powerful emotional arc, a witty comedy, or deep insights into the nature of love will want to steer clear.
For a more dramatic romance that touches on similar themes, try Nights in Rodanthe. For a romantic drama with a younger cast that does a better job of capturing heartache and regret, try Dear John.
[5.6 out of 10 on IMDB](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0166252/). I give it a 5.0 for a weak premise and poor follow-through.