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'P.S.' not just a chick flick
Movie Review: P.S. I Love You
By John Starr
Special to 2theadvocate.com
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PLAY OFFICIAL TRAILER
Holly Kennedy, played by Hillary Swank, is a barely 30-year-old widow trying to grieve the loss of her husband, who suffered and died from a brain tumor. She is aided in the process by her best friends, Denise (Lisa Kudrow) and Sharon (Gina Gershon), and her mother (Kathy Bates). She is also aided by an unlikely person: her deceased husband, Gerry (Gerard Butler). Gerry had written notes to Holly urging her to remember him and release him. It is a long and emotional process, but Holly grows a great deal along the way. She laughs, she cries and she falls both literally and in love.
Director Richard LaGravenese brings together a great cast for a genuinely good film. Some would say it is a chick flick. Actually most would say it is a chick flick. But I also found it to be funny and touching.
Usually you can count on Hillary Swank to be exceptional with serious, emotional roles, but she did a wonderful job playing the funny scenes, too.
The rest of the cast were also beautifully suited. There were definitely points where I didn’t feel like they were acting; I felt like they really knew and understood the characters. This is not always easy.
The actress who gives the best performance is Kathy Bates. Bates plays Patricia, Holly’s mother. Patricia was forced to raise her children by herself when her husband left her. So, when Holly met Gerry and got married at such a young age (19), Patricia was somewhat surprised.
She had always felt that Holly was too wrapped up in emotion to see how stupid a young marriage is. After Gerry’s death, it is Patricia who always provides the brutally honest truth, the types of things someone should say but is afraid to say. Bates is stern but loving, and it comes off in a loving way.
Overall, “P.S. I Love You” is emotion-provoking with a good mixture of humor thrown in. I suggest you take someone you love to see the movie, because when you leave you will appreciate that person even more. Be prepared, it is depressing in some parts, but it is all part of the process. Definitely, not just a chick flick.
