STUDIO: Warner Brothers
RELEASE DATE: May 6, 2008
STARRING: Hilary Swank, Gerard Butler, Lisa Kudrow, Gina Gershon, Harry Connick Jr., Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and Kathy Bates
WRITTEN BY: Richard LaGravenese and Steve Rogers
DIRECTED BY: Richard LaGravenese
FEATURES: Additional Scenes
"A Conversation with Cecelia Ahern"
James Blunt "Same Mistake" Music Video
"The Name of the Game Is Snaps": Learn How to Play

PS I Love You is at least two, sometimes three, movies at the same time and talented writer/director Richard LaGravenese never seems to find the way to bring this love letter together. He can't even get his cast on the same page. Hilary Swank and Kathy Bates appear to think they're in a serious film about love, loss, and moving on, but Gina Gershon and Lisa Kudrow feel like they're auditioning for the next Sex and the City wannabe. The film opens with a tender and believable argument between Holly (Swank) and her boyfriend Gerry (a charming Gerard Butler) about the eternal dilemma of balancing personal and professional life with the potential of having children. It's a well-written, unusually long scene that feels completely genuine. And then the credits roll and the cliches start to eat away at the believable foundation set up by the open. What could have been a very good adult-driven romantic drama, the kind they don't really make that often any more, devolves into pratfalls off karaoke stages and ridiculously unbelievable behavior. The whole thing feels like a postscript to that interesting opening, an afterthought without the same weight or believability.

After the credits, PS I Love You cuts to a funeral. Holly's man has died, but before Gerry went he left a series of letters to help his sure-to-be troubled girl through his passing. Through an unknown delivery system, the letters come to Holly just when she seems to need them most with instructions both minor (do something embarrassing like karaoke) and major (go to Ireland). Holly struggles not just with moving on after the death of her true love but she's always been a little uncertain about what she wanted out of life. Being guided by something, even if its the wishes of her dead husband (who she sometimes talks to in weird Ghost-like scenes), doesn't seem that odd for Holly. Along this unusual journey she befriends an odd bartender (Harry Connick Jr.) and helps her mother (Kathy Bates) through her own issues.

PS I Love You was based on a book by Cecelia Ahern and the tone changes and overabundance of characters probably worked better on the page than it does on the big or small screen. It's a constantly shifting film that varies wildly from awkward physical comedy to real moments of regret and loss. Every scene that feels genuine is followed by one that sounds like it came from a computer designed to write romantic comedies. There are decent performances in PS I Love You and glimpses of what first drew Swank to the project but after this, The Reaping, and Freedom Writers one has to start questioning the career decisions of this once-consistent Oscar-winning star. 2007 was not a good year for Hilary.

Almost without fail, all Warner Brothers theatrical DVDs look and sound great. While you won't use PS I Love You to show off your system, the picture and audio will never distract from the proceedings. The anamorphic widescreen transfer is always vivid and the dialogue is never muffled. Fans of PS I Love You will also find a few additional scenes, a featurette, a music video, and a bit about the game snaps. It's not a remarkable collection of extras and fans may miss a commentary track, but PS I Love You is bound to be a more likely rental than purchase for most people.