P.S. I Love You (2007)

A young widow discovers that her late husband has left her 10 messages intended to help ease her pain and start a new life.

Director:

Richard LaGravenese

Writers:

Richard LaGravenese (screenplay), Steven Rogers (screenplay),

Stars:

Hilary Swank, Gerard Butler, Harry Connick Jr.

2 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Hilary Swank	...	Holly
Gerard Butler	...	Gerry
Lisa Kudrow	...	Denise
Gina Gershon	...	Sharon
James Marsters	...	John
Kathy Bates	...	Patricia
Harry Connick Jr.	...	Daniel
Nellie McKay	...	Ciara
Jeffrey Dean Morgan	...	William
Dean Winters	...	Tom
Anne Kent	...	Rose Kennedy
Brian McGrath	...	Martin Kennedy
Sherie Rene Scott	...	Barbara
Susan Blackwell	...	Vicky
Michael Countryman	...	Ted

Storyline

Holly Kennedy is beautiful, smart and married to the love of her life - a passionate, funny, and impetuous Irishman named Gerry. So when Gerry's life is taken by an illness, it takes the life out of Holly. The only one who can help her is the person who is no longer there. Nobody knows Holly better than Gerry. So it's a good thing he planned ahead. Before he died, Gerry wrote Holly a series of letters that will guide her, not only through her grief, but in rediscovering herself. The first message arrives on Holly's 30th birthday in the form of a cake, and to her utter shock, a tape recording from Gerry, who proceeds to tell her to get out and "celebrate herself". In the weeks and months that follow, more letters from Gerry are delivered in surprising ways, each sending her on a new adventure and each signing off in the same way; P.S. I Love You. Holly's mother and best friends begin to worry that Gerry's letters are keeping Holly tied to the past, but in fact, each letter is pushing ...

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Plot Keywords:

letter | friendship | birthday | widow | sad | 

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Taglines:

Sometimes you have to live life one letter at a time

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Japan] Warner Bros. [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 December 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

P.-S. - Je t'aime

Filming Locations:

County Wicklow, Ireland

Box Office

Budget:

$30,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£224,096 (UK) (21 December 2007)

Gross:

$53,680,848 (USA) (7 March 2008)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Alcon Entertainment, Grosvenor Park Productions, Wendy Finerman Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

126 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The whole letter to sent to his Mom & Dad in Ireland says: "Dear Mum & Dad. Well, Doc says there's not much time so I thought I'd write to you, seeing how bad we Kennedys are with modern day contraptions like telephones. Tell Dad to not lay about and to take care of his legs-keep them walking. I always thing of Dad walking across the farm yelling after the hands too lazy to keep the chickens fed. And you Mum, yelling at Dad to treat the boys with a Father's hand, not a father's belt. I remember everything Mum. And I thank you for giving me a mother's breath of life and love. No son ever loved a mother more, I can tell you that. Never could say it to your face. Nor to Dad. But I love you."

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Goofs

When Holly's friends and family come for her birthday she has a pimple on her head, then she showers and it's magically gone.

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Quotes

[During her dream sequence/fantasy, Holly is hanging over Gerry's shoulders while he plays guitar]
Holly Kennedy: I can't fall asleep alone.
Gerry Kennedy: [still strumming] I'm right here, baby.
Holly Kennedy: I had a terrible dream.
Gerry Kennedy: Don't tell me.
[He smiles]
Holly Kennedy: Gerry, I don't want to go back to work. What should I do?
Gerry Kennedy: Quit. Stay here with me.
[She rises and walks to the couch]
Holly Kennedy: [despairing] I don't have a plan, Gerry.
[...]

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Crazy Credits

This film is dedicated in loving memory of Windland Smith Rice 1970 - 2005

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Connections

Featured in Siskel & Ebert & the Movies: Episode dated 22 December 2007 (2007)

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Soundtracks

If I Ever Leave This World Alive
Written by Dennis Casey, Matt Hensley, Nathen Maxwell (as Nathen Jeglinski),
Dave King (as David King), Bridget Regan, Bob Schmidt (as Robert Schmidt) and George Schwindt
Performed by Flogging Molly
Courtesy of Side One Dummy Records

User Reviews

Not just a chick flick

To be fully honest, I'm not one for what we know as "chick-flicks" because of their tendency to be as predictable as a crystal ball or as cheesy as cheese. However, hearing that Gerard Butler and James Marsters were both in this film together, seeing as I adore both actors for many different reasons, I thought I might be able to stomach it and maybe even have a laugh.

By the end of the film, I found this film to be more than just a "chick-flick"; it was instead a bittersweet story about a young widow, played by the strongly talented Hilary Swank, coping with the death of her husband through letters that he'd written for her teaching her how to live and remember how to be happy with herself. All in all, I'd say it was a great film. It was one of those film that can make you smile, scream, laugh and cry and the writers capture the audiences emotions beautifully.

The writer has clearly gone through the same situation of losing a loved one because if I'm not mistaken, I do recall hearing my grandmother going through the same emotions that Swank's character was going through after her own husband passed away.

The acting in the film is perfectly done. Butler, though he can't hold an Irish accent very well, plays the role of a goofball perfectly, especially in his striptease scene and when he was watching his wife sing a sexy karaoke tune (poor guy was trying to contain himself while covering Marsters' eyes). Swank is also hilarious and in a scene when she's crying in an emotional breakdown, she plays it more realistically than I have ever seen on film.

What is also great about the film is that it rebels against most romantic comedies by practically spoofing typical chick-flick events, which was a great relief to me, since the recycled plots that I see in too many films and books nowadays (*cough*Enchanted*cough*) gets more than just annoying. Out of ten, I will give it a nine because the only problem I had with the film was Butler's accent. Other than that, it was a great film with a well-chosen cast and a well-written script.