Romancefest 2021: P.S. I Love You

Directed by Richard LaGravenese

Written by Richard LaGravenese and Steven Rogers

Based on the novel by Cecelia Ahern

Starring Hilary Swank, Gerard Butler, Lisa Kudrow, Harry Connick, Jr., Gina Gershon, Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Kathy Bates

USA, 2007

Here's a personal anecdote involving this movie for you. Once upon a time I worked at a video distributor and we were selling P.S. I LOVE YOU. Studios used to do this thing where they wanted to book their orders before they officially even announced when a movie's street date was. I guess this was because, at the time I had this job, the window between a movie hitting theaters and a movie hitting home video was shrinking smaller and smaller. The studios wanted to have it both ways: shrink the window so their ad campaign could basically work for both theatrical and home release, but don't spill the beans too early on when the home release is, because you might scare off ticket buyers.

Anyway, what this meant was we couldn't advertise these movies for sale, but we could call up our accounts in a blind panic, begging them to please order these movies before the order cut off date, which hadn't been announced yet and likely wouldn't be until it was too late.

One of my favorite accounts was a store in Brooklyn owned by a guy named Julio. He sounded and talked just like you might imagine a guy named Julio from Brooklyn would. He was a nice, funny guy, and a good customer. So, I called him up.

"Hey, P.S. I LOVE YOU is rebooking and we need to get your order in," I told him.

"What's the title?" he asked.

"P.S. I LOVE YOU," I repeated.

"Oh yeah?" Julio said. "Well, P.S. -- I don't give a shit."

Now, about 15 years later, I guess the answer is I give a shit, because I finally got around to watching it.

Jennifer Garner stars as a real estate agent who is dissatisfied with the size of her apartment and doesn't want to move on to the "having kids" portion of her life until she and her charming Irish musician husband (Gerald Butler) are a little more established (read: have a bigger apartment). As the movie opens, the two are in the middle of an argument the likes of which it seems like they've had many times before. To their credit, after each saying their peace, they get over it quickly and move on to continue loving each other.

One short opening credits sequence later and we are informed that Jennifer Garner is now a widow and Gerald Butler is dead! However, he reaches out from beyond the grave with a plan. While he was slowly dying, he wrote a series of letters to help Garner get through her grief, including suggestions of things she should do (go out and party with the girls), things she should buy (a lamp) and places she should go (Ireland). 

Garner's Mom, played by Kathy Bates, is wary that this might not be the best way to get over someone. This seems like some wise insight. But, you can't really tell someone how or when to grieve so much as just be there for them whatever they end up going through on their terms, which is what she does.

The movie benefits from a very nice supporting cast. Garner's pals are played memorably by Lisa Kudrow and Gina Gershon and Harry Connick, Jr. is on hand as a bartender and potential romantic option for Swank. Which leads me to the biggest bit of fantasy in the movie -- not that the letter-writing thing wouldn't work, not that Butler couldn't show up as a ghost and hang out with Swank and not even that the hunky other Irish musician (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) also happens to be the guy who saves you when your boat is stranded in the middle of a lake -- no, the biggest fantasy is that someone would be able to resist the charms of Harry Connick, Jr.

So, it's an interesting premise with a nice cast and some beautiful scenery but ultimately a little long and with a little too much extra stuff in it (Gershon's having a kid, Kudrow's getting married, Swank's figuring out her career). Reading up on the movie I noticed some viewers took exception to Swank's performance. I think that's sort of a cheap shot. She's sort of playing a goof ball in a goofy (but sad!) movie, what's she supposed to do? It's not her fault her character doesn't hook up with Harry Connick, Jr.