Bilmflog review: P.S. I love you

P.S. I love you (usa 2007)

Director:Richard LaGravenese Writers: Richard LaGravenese and Steven Rogers

My friend and co-bilmflogblogger Zeb warned me when I told him I was going to see this movie that it was going to be a corny tearjerker. I didn’t mind, because I was with my wife and the last movie we saw together was written about in this blogs first post. Go figure. I take her to Hugh Grant movies and in exchange I’m allowed to enjoy Die Hard or Wayne’s World.

Here’s the story: Hillary Swank and Gerard Butler are a young couple living in New York. (He showed his sixpack of a lot, so I kept hoping for some Persians coming though the door 'THIS... IS... SPARTA!')
Alas Butler gets a braintumor and dies, leaving letters for Swank helping her get on with her life. I’m the first to admit its sounds corny. Almost Kevin Costners Message in a bottle corny.
But here’s the good news: they don’t tell the story like that at all, but with humour and great dialogue instead of self-pity or endless crying. For instance; they could have shown Butler dying slowly and mumbling ‘I –cough- love you’ with his dying breath. Instead we fall in on his wake were music from The Pogues is played and when the bartender hears how Butler dies he replays “Nice!”

The Bartender is played by Harry Connick jr. I really enjoyed his role and my guess is you will to. He’s rude with a lot of dark humour. I didn’t think he’d be funny cause his acting on Will& Grace sure as hell isn’t.* I have to mention Kathy Bates too, she’s one great actress. (and Gina Gershon, you’ll always have a special place in my heart – in a Showgirls kind of way). The acting and the dialogue is really very lifelike, and the film has a few surprising turns.
Fellas, go see it with your special lady friend. If you’re lucky, she’ll respond to the scene where Swank sheds a few tears in bed like mine did: “oh… I love those drapes.” (She’s cute that way.)

ONE thing bothered me. Why cant there be Irish characters in a movie without including all Irish clichés? Butler as ‘Gerry Kennedy’ wears a lot of jewellery, and porkpie hats, drinks only Guinness, and listens to Irish bands only. They even pulled that guy who played an Irish psycho on OZ out of obscurity. My advice: next time you go overboard, for feck’s sake bring in Ardal O’Hanlon or Graham Norton from Graham Linehans Father Ted.


* He’s gay, she’s Jewish. That joke isn’t funny enough to last eight seasons.