P.S. I Love You

“P.S. I Love You,” starring Hilary Swank and Gerard Butler, is, on the surface, about the grieving process – how one moves through grief and resumes living. But this movie is also a romantic comedy, which means light and fluffy. So any meaningful exploration of grief proves superficial and any real emotional response seems manipulated. That being said, the main reason to see this movie is Gerard Butler, who reveals a different aspect of his acting persona to those who know him as the buff King Leonidas in “300.” Holly (Swank) and Gerry (Butler) are married and deeply in love. However, after Gerry’s death due to brain cancer, Holly discovers that he prepared a series of letters to be delivered to her at key moments during her first year of widowhood. Much of Holly’s interactions with Gerry are shown through flashback and imagined conversations she has with him. The characters, Holly, her two best friends (Lisa Kudrow and Gina Gershon), and her mother (Kathy Bates) never get beyond one-dimension because the script is more focused on either being cute or trying to wring tears from the audience. Hilary Swank has two Oscars to prove that she is a capable actor. What she hasn’t proved is that she can consistently select quality roles to play. (1/29/07)