P.S. I Love You starts out with the two main characters having a lover's spat. Which quickly degenerates into lovers doing…other things. Then, without any warning, one of the characters is replaced by a big black box which, you eventually figure out, is filled with his ashes. Even later than that you learn that he died of a brain tumor. The rest of the film is about posthumous letters that the woman receives from her deceased husband [1] that are designed to help her move on.
My verdict: Overall the story was believable. It wasn't just kitschy romance and sometimes the letters didn't have their intended effects. In the end the widowed woman learns some important things about herself, her family, and her friends. It was a real and meaningful journey for her.[2] There was only once scene in particular that I didn't care for.[3] Leann refused to watch this one with me because it "looked sad".[4]
Notes:
[1] The husband, played by Gerard Butler of Phantom of the Opera fame, was strangely reminiscent of James McAvoy.
[2] During this journey, though, a completely useless character, played by Harry Connick, Jr., keeps popping up. He seems like he might be a romantic interest, but that never materializes. Furthermore, he suffers from an unnamed syndrome where he lacks an appropriateness filter and says whatever he's thinking—rude, insensitive, forward, etc. This aspect of his personality, though, doesn't serve any purpose. I suspect that the author of the book this movie was based on was following the common counsel from unpublished creative writing professors that authors should make their secondary characters vibrant and interesting. Well, she made this character unusual and possibly interesting, but she failed to make him necessary or useful.
[3] She accidentally sees a man's naked backside. I'm just not sure why I, as the viewer, had to see it, too.
[4] Leann refused to watch The Time Traveller's Wife on the same grounds.
My verdict: Overall the story was believable. It wasn't just kitschy romance and sometimes the letters didn't have their intended effects. In the end the widowed woman learns some important things about herself, her family, and her friends. It was a real and meaningful journey for her.[2] There was only once scene in particular that I didn't care for.[3] Leann refused to watch this one with me because it "looked sad".[4]
Notes:
[1] The husband, played by Gerard Butler of Phantom of the Opera fame, was strangely reminiscent of James McAvoy.
[2] During this journey, though, a completely useless character, played by Harry Connick, Jr., keeps popping up. He seems like he might be a romantic interest, but that never materializes. Furthermore, he suffers from an unnamed syndrome where he lacks an appropriateness filter and says whatever he's thinking—rude, insensitive, forward, etc. This aspect of his personality, though, doesn't serve any purpose. I suspect that the author of the book this movie was based on was following the common counsel from unpublished creative writing professors that authors should make their secondary characters vibrant and interesting. Well, she made this character unusual and possibly interesting, but she failed to make him necessary or useful.
[3] She accidentally sees a man's naked backside. I'm just not sure why I, as the viewer, had to see it, too.
[4] Leann refused to watch The Time Traveller's Wife on the same grounds.
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