It’s not often that the first fifteen minutes of a movie can completely grab your attention. It’s even less rare when a movie presents itself as just another drop-in-the-bucket romantic comedy, only to truly do the remarkable–to present stereotypes, gender roles, and the usual unrealistic relationship melodrama–only to then break apart these stereotypes, one by one, until you are aware that you are seeing something not often presented by mainstream, Hollywood movies: couples actually relating.
We are presented with a couple, Holly (Hilary Swank) and Gerry (Gerard Butler). At the onset of the movie they are fighting, quarreling over a seeming innocuous topic. However, as the conversation progresses, we see it is one of importance to both of them. Holly is upset that Gerry, at dinner with her mom, seemed to infer that she was unfit for motherhood.
Here, the movie managed something remarkable. We are used to romantic comedies — throw-a-way scenes that present the argument in a hackneyed, stereotypical way, with the woman angry and silent, and the man unaware of what he had done wrong but eager to apologize, whether or not he believes he was wrong or not. Most romantic comedies aren’t about real couples as much as they’re about buying into this commercialized view of relationships and holding on for dear life.
Right away “P.S. I Love You” was different. Not because it strays from this source material but because it resolves it. Casting Hilary Swank (“The Next Karate Kid,” “Boys Don’t Cry”) was the first thing the movie does right. In the opening scene she is emotional, irrational, scared…real. Gerard Butler was the second right move. Impressions of King Leonidus from “300” were useless in defining Gerry’s character. Butler can act, quite well, actually, and this is displayed wonderfully in the opening sequence.
When Holly is angry, he confronts her; where she’s scared, he forces her to face it; when she’s emotional he doesn’t back down. He doesn’t accept Holly’s faults; he challenges them, makes her face them, and loves her because of them. I was never aware that I was watching a contrived “fight” which is meant to end with one or both parties feeling ignored, compromised, or hurt. The movie makes you go through it with them, makes you experience both the disagreement and the make-up, which ends not with gratuitous sex, but with an awkward, honest conversation between the two.
After just fifteen minutes, it was clear this movie wanted to make a real statement and not just fade into the background. After fifteen minutes I was sold. I absolutely wanted to see more…wanted to see this couple survive.
And then the movie drops its bomb, from which the rest of the movie is molded — Gerry dies.
His death is not explained, other than he had a brain tumor, and is thrown in as a necessary plot point. Like the event itself–a funeral in Ireland– it feels forced, phony, contrived. Why did he die? What was the reason? Why waste so much good acting and dialogue as nothing but a plot device to set up the rest of the film?
Gerry’s death serves to set up the rest of the film. On her 30th birthday, Holly receives the first of 10 letters from Gerry, designed to help her move on with her life, to find happiness, and to find a life without him. These are meant to help her get over aspects of her life, such as shyness and procrastination, which had defined her life until this point. Some of the scenes are humorous, if not slightly awkward, such as Holly signing karaoke in a bar she had previously embarrassed herself at. However, some are more poignant, such as trip to Ireland with three of her friends, which reconnect her to Gerry in more ways than she had imagined, including a chance encounter with Gerry’s old bandmate.
The movie is also intertwined with two subplots – One involving a man Daniel, (played by Harry Connick Jr), who develops feelings for Holly but is frustrated when she can’t open up to him, and one involving her friends struggling to find suitable companions in the hustle-and-bustle of New York City.
The latter scenes add depth to the film, as they show women’s struggle to find a loving companion, and not just throw-a-way one-night stands, but the former, involving Conick Jr., seem to take away from the film. While his feelings for Holly are genuine, and his acting is top-notch, it is clear that she is reeling from her husband’s death, and struggling to put the pieces of her life back together. This causes much sympathy to be lost for Connick’s character, where otherwise we would be rooting for him with all our hearts. It’s just too soon for Holly, and this notion could have been resolved in a better way than adding Daniel’s character to the mix.
However, the movie does offer some gems, particularly in Swank’s performance, and Butler’s (both in the opening scenes, and later scenes involving flashbacks of the two’s romance). It also showcases a powerhouse performance by Holly’s mother, played by Kathy Bates. One scene between the two may offend you slightly, while another will absolutely break your heart. The movie is about death, lost love but love nonetheless, and about growth. It is painful at times, and while some scenes take away from the overall picture, the movie handles the subject matter well. The ending, which will not be given away here, harkens back to the opening scene. It is believable, a bit awkward, and above all else, real.
If you’re looking to rent a romantic comedy you could do a lot worse than “P.S. I Love You.” It offers a look at relationships, and life, in a way usually reserved for independent films, while offering a star-studded cast including Lisa Kudrow, Hilary Swank, Kathy Bates, Gerard Butler, and Harry Connick Jr. And while its middle and end pale in comparison to its opening sequence, the movie does make a real statement about life, and although a bit mournful, will not disappoint you if you stick around until the end.
– by Mark Ziobro
