Movie Review: P.S. I Love You

Based on the novel by Cecilia Ahern, in which a young widow (Hillary Swank) discovers that her late husband (Gerard Butler) has left her 10 messages intended to help ease her pain and start a new life.

OK, this film just screams chick flick but it's really not that bad. It's part comedy, part romance and part drama led by an excellent cast.

Hillary Swank plays the part of the widow very well and the scenes that she shares the screen with her mother, Kathy Bates, bring a lot of star power... there's 3 Oscars and 4 Golden Globes between the 2 of them. Gerard Butler, who I loved in 300 earlier this year, is charming and easy to like in his role as the fun-lovin', beer drinkin', guitar playin', philosophy slingin' deceased Irish hubby. Harry Connick Jr and Lisa Kudrow (Friends) provide some comic relief nicely. For the ladies who tire of Gerard, there's also Jeffrey Dean Morgan (who played Denny in Grey's Anatomy). All involved are likeable as their characters.

There's some nice chemisty between Hillary and Gerard I think. She's completely distraught when she loses him and they do a nice job of showing why and how deeply in love they were. The film is told with a lot of flash backs of the young couple's life, and you get to spend some time in New York City to Ireland and the director does a nice job of capturing the feel of both. I found the music to be a lot of fun also, highlighted by Flogging Molly's "If I Ever Leave This World Alive" and The Pogues "Love You 'Til The End".

Not incredibly original, not incredibly moving, but it's a fun movie. It tends to get a bit schmalty or too gooey at times, but hey whaddya expect? I told you it's a chick flick. Also, it might have been a bit better if they'd trimmed maybe 15 or 20 minutes from it.

Critics have been pretty harsh on this movie but I liked it. I mean this film isn't going to win any Academy Awards for anybody involved or anything, but it'll make a lot of people smile. I did.

6/10