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P.S. I Love YouBased on the best-selling novel from Cecelia Ahern, P.S. I Love You is far more than the standard chick flick that it may first appear to be. Relocating the novel from Ireland to America, multiple Oscar-winner Hilary Swank stars as the young woman who has recently lost her husband. And yet amidst her grief, she discovers a series of letters that he's written to help. These letters give her certain things she has to do, to help her move on with her life.
It's not a completely clean adaptation of the book, and yet P.S. I Love You has more than enough in its tank to qualify as a good, quality bona fide weepy. Swank in particular is a terrific actress, and delivers another worthy performance here. Credit too to Gerard Butler (Phantom Of The Opera, 300) for his work as her late husband. The film does have a few problems. It meanders a little, and its running time could use a little pruning. Yet nonetheless P.S. I Love You is a well made, engaging drama, and likely to be responsible for a fair bit of blubbing among its target audience by the time the credits roll. Worth a look. --Jon Foster ... Read More » |
Average User Rating: 60% (73 Reviews) | |
| 5 / 5 | Don't knock it till you've tried it!
Rua Mac (Ireland) - 2 February 2008 I loved the book and was really looking forward to seeing the film, but was slightly put off to hear that it was set in the USA instead of Ireland. But, in spite of this I decided to give it a go and was pleasantly surprised. Yes, it is very different from the book but if you can put that aside and see it as a film in it's own right you'll really enjoy it. />Hilary Swank and Gerard Butler are delightful as a couple and their acting is amazing. Swank's acting during the funeral scene is superb. Laughing and crying at the same time through the playing of Fairytale of New York, she just tugs at the heartstrings. Some reviewers have criticised it saying that it slagged off the Irish and called us leprechauns. But the only references to that were when Gerry made a silly, jokey remark and Holly said something about being in love with a leprechaun; and also when the sing-a-gram comes to the door, which was just Gerry's silly way of reminding Holly about him and also about St.Patrick's day. A couple of references to something that we ourselves promote as part of the tourist trade can hardly be classed as racism! In fact, the Irish are portrayed as attractive, intelligent, warm, friendly, hard-working, fun-loving, creative people, who are fortunate enough to live in a beautiful land, so I don't think there's anything for us to take offence at. This film is full of romance, comedy, pathos, top-class performances, and stunning scenery. Don't be put off by the negative revues of people who might prefer more sex and violence. Sometimes it's nice to see people overcoming challenges and, with the help of family and friends, coming out the other side with humour and optimism. ... Read Full Review » |
| 4 / 5 | Better Than The Book
S. Parsons "egbertscoffee" (Rugby, England) - 10 February 2008 I've read the book and watched the film. The Irish accents in the film are actually pretty good (and I know quite a few Irishmen!) - there are some slow parts to the film, but those parts all contribute to the emotional end. If you sit and watch the film with a bad feeling about it, then you're going to purposefully hate it...however you watch this with an open mind and actually think about the situation that Holly faces...then you'll find each scene is great and adds up to a brilliant chick-flick film! Warning: Do not let men watch this, because they'll get jealous because Gerry is the perfect man!... Read Full Review » |
| 1 / 5 | Awful
S. Hacking (Watford, UK) - 17 March 2008 I had the unfortunate experience of going to see this at the cinema. I was expecting something completely different from what was given to me - I thought "must be good, Hilary Swank and Kathy Bates".... but oh dear. How anyone could think this was a quality piece of entertainment is beyond me. It was complete manipulative "chick flick" material, only after one thing to make the audience cry. Well, it made me cry because it was so dire. I felt cheated and thought "i wonder how Ms Swank ever got roped into this". Avoid at all costs, unless of course you're a Mills & Boon reader.... Read Full Review » |
| 1 / 5 | Rarely touching; largely sickening.
L. J. Snapes (Truro, Cornwall, UK) - 11 January 2008 No-one can dispute that losing one's partner is one of the saddest things that could happen to someone, however the characters in PS I Love You are so weak and prone to sentimentality that you either will them dead, or indefinitely unhappy. My experience as an usher at a cinema tells me that this film is hugely popular with women, who "aaah" and giggle at every lame joke regarding self-discovery, delivered by Mr Irritating Irishman's simpering letters, but to anyone who can resist hormones and Richard and Judy's Book List, it's one of the most nauseating films of the past few years. Lisa Kudrow delivers perhaps the most satisfying performances as one of "Holly's" best friend, but this is merely due to the fact that she's forced to reprise her role as the irreverent Phoebe of Friends. Everyone knows Hilary Swank is a competent actress, not least due to her Oscar nomination for Million Dollar Baby, but she's clearly uncomfortable in her role as the cliched chick flick heroine. (Aside from the asinine script, there's the seemlingly inavoidable girly film tradition of having gallon-capacity wine glasses, which must be compulsively swilled at every decision-making turning point). The poster carries the declaration, "From the Producers of the Devil Wears Prada" (which is much funnier, if you're searching for a sassy chick flick), however, based on similar proclamations on the Water Horse, and Golden Compass' posters, this seems to be a desparate euphemism for, "look, this film is crap, but you loved our last flick, so give us a chance, and spend £6 on this one"... Avoid at all costs, and guys, if you're dragged along to this, be sure to bring a pair of headphones to avoid the sickening dialogue...... Read Full Review » |
| 2 / 5 | Slow, boring and never manages to effectively pull at the heart strings.
Mr. D. Bell "Dan Bell" (Northampton, England) - 17 January 2008 When a man goes to watch a "chick flick" with his wife/girlfriend he has to do the macho thing and tell all his mates "it was rubbish" even if secretly they enjoyed it. When the wife/girlfriend actually agrees that it was bit rubbish then you know that as far as "chick flicks" go it is pretty bad. That is exactly what happened when I recently watched PS I Love you. I have never read the book but I am told it varies so much that in places it bears no resemblance whatsoever. As a film in its own right it is a total mess. The tone is all over the place and at one moment it's trying to be funny, other moments trying to more poignant and other times it tries to pull at the heart strings. None of these are achieved with any level of success and it becomes confusing and difficult to know what the filmmakers are trying to achieve. The films biggest problem though is that it is painfully slow in places. There are flashback scenes which seem to go on forever and seeing Hilary Swank trying to act as a 19 year by just giggling a lot is totally unconvincing and almost embarrassing. Overall the film is a mish-mash of ideas, none are which are done very well. Despite what the reviews say don't expect to be crying at the end of it. If you are it's probably more likely because you realise you have just wasted eleven quid on two cinema tickets. ... Read Full Review » |
RRP
£20.00
Release Date
12 May 2008
Price Range
£5.99 - £13.99