The real interesting mystery that can be framed around
P.S. I Love You does not concern the movie itself—it’s much
too bland and uninspired for that—but its intended audience.
Sure, I can understand who might go to see the film;
after all, how could a giggling teenage girl or an
overly-sentimental middle-aged woman refuse what has been
marketed as the most romantic and teary-eyed chick-flick of the
season? But when I try to figure out who might like the
movie, I am left befuddled. P.S. I Love You is hardly the
sweet, welcome tearjerker that it has been marketed as. In
actuality, the movie represents a stunningly artificial
concoction; every character present exists as a one-note (and
often, it would appear, mentally-insane) caricature. Filmgoers
who like feeling the warmth of romance in movies will find
themselves betrayed by P.S. I Love You’s very cutesy
cartoonishness. Those who merely like to escape from reality
with romantic-comedies will be equally-disappointed because,
heck, even the most imaginative of us need to find some fragment
of actual life to latch onto in a movie to escape from the real
thing. And yet, still, despite its utter lack of likableness,
P.S. I Love You is retaining the smallest percentage-drops
at the Box-Office each weekend of this Holiday Season. Color me
surprised and (to a lesser extent) feeling bad for those who
shell out $10 to see it.
Okay, it’s true that I am coming down
a bit harshly on P.S. I Love You. After all, the movie’s
intentions are far too lightweight for it to become a painful
cinematic experience. (It should be noted, however, that results
may vary depending on whether or not you have a penis.) But
isn’t a movie that is entirely mediocre, offering nothing truly
fresh to the viewer, just as unworthy as a completely awful one?
I think so, and P.S. I Love You would perfectly fit this
description if it weren’t for a single asset: Hilary Swank. In
the lead role—flatly as the part may be envisioned by director
Richard LaGravenese (who also worked with Swank on the
teacher-drama Freedom Writers) and his co-writer Steven
Rogers—the seasoned actress works wonders for the entire
project. She is effortless, affable, cute, and charming in the
film, almost nailing the very balance of comedy and drama that
nearly destroys the movie because of utter implausibility. If it
weren’t for Swank, I would likely be ripping P.S. I Love You
to shreds in this review. No other member of the cast—from
the manic Lisa Kudrow to the out-of-place Kathy Bates to the
totally-ludicrous Gerard Butler—is able to come close to
capturing the essence of what she does. Accordingly, the film
fails to thrive, existing only as yet another insipid and
entirely disposable invention of the Hollywood Studio Machine.
-Danny Baldwin, Bucket Reviews
Review Published on: 1.11.2008
Screened on: 1.5.2007 at the Edwards San Marcos 18 in San
Marcos, CA.