P.S. (2004)

An unfulfilled divorced woman gets the chance to relive her past when she meets a young man who appears to be her high school sweetheart who died many years before.

Director:

Dylan Kidd

Writers:

Helen Schulman (novel), Helen Schulman (screenplay)

Stars:

Laura Linney, Topher Grace, Marcia Gay Harden

3 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Laura Linney	...	Louise Harrington
Gabriel Byrne	...	Peter Harrington
Lois Smith	...	Ellie Silverstein
Paul Rudd	...	Sammy Silverstein
Topher Grace	...	F. Scott Feinstadt
Jennifer Carta	...	Work Study
Becki Newton	...	Rebecca
Chris Meyer	...	Ricky
Marcia Gay Harden	...	Missy Goldberg
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ross A. McIntyre	...	F. Scott's Neighbor (unconfirmed)
Susan Porro	...	Waitress (unconfirmed)

Storyline

Louise Harrington, a divorced, thirty-something admissions officer at Columbia University's School of Fine Arts is intelligent, pretty, and successful, yet unfulfilled. That is, until a graduate school application crosses her desk and she arranges to interview the young painter. When F. Scott Feinstadt appears, he bears an uncanny resemblance to Louise's high school boyfriend and one true love, an artist who died in a car accident twenty years earlier. Within hours of the interview, Louise and Scott have embarked on a passionately uninhibited older woman/younger man affair. But is Scott just a reminder of Louise's lost love? And is Scott just trying to wheedle his way into the Ivy League? Adding to the romantic complications is competition from Louise's best friend from high school, Missy, who shows up to claim the affections of the boy; Louise's co-dependent ex-husband Peter; her cynical mother and fresh-out-of-rehab brother.

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Plot Keywords:

sex addict | jealousy | sex | knee high boots | painter | 

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Taglines:

What would you do for a second chance?

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Fantasy | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and sexuality

Did You Know?

Trivia

The artwork by the character F. Scott is by the artist Bryan LeBoeuf.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Peter Harrington: I can hear you.
Louise Harrington: Hear what?
Peter Harrington: Counting the calories.
Louise Harrington: Fuck off.

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Connections

Referenced in Delocated: Pilot (2009)

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Soundtracks

When the Day Is Short
Written by Martha Wainwright
Performed by Martha Wainwright
Published by Querbes Service

User Reviews

intermittently charming but oddly unfinished

On paper, Kidd's earlier film Roger Dodger, about a snide Lothario (played to Oscar quality by Campbell Scott) and his attempts to "mentor" his nephew, seems the lesser of P.S., about an August/ April romance between an admissions officer at a Columbia art department and a young applicant who stuns her by looking like an old departed boyfriend. But Roger Dodger feels tight, finished, and driven by a wild logic of its own, while P.S. is riddled with incompletenesses. Laura Linney is such a fine and affecting actress that she could convince me she had erotic chemistry with a bookcase, but despite her talents, the alleged electricity between her character and her young paramour in P.S., played by Topher Grace, required frequent suspensions of my disbelief. Grace here has such a hard time leaving his arch, "That 70s Show" schtick behind that he plays this film as though it were a bizarre dream sequence from his TV program. He often looks impatient and half-in-character, as if he expects Laura Propane, his redheaded gal pal from the TV show, to rustle him awake so he can say, "That was the weirdest dream" and proceed in the comfortable universe of avocado and harvest gold situation comedy. Also, the script for this film is half-baked. Many oddities of character and plot, in addition to abrupt and mechanical statements of intentions by characters throughout the film, suggest an outline rather than a finished screenplay. Nonetheless, Linney gives a beautiful performance and there are still many things to like along this film's awkward way.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 February 2005 (Portugal)

Also Known As:

P.S.

Filming Locations:

Columbia University - Broadway & 116th Street, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$18,710, 17 October 2004

Gross USA:

$180,503

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$273,023

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hart Sharp Entertainment, Fortissimo Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min 100 min (Ontario)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1