Hilary Swank and Gerard Butler in "P. S. I Love You"
courtesy of Warner Brothers Home Entertainment
“Love Letter”

Just when you think there is nothing worth watching on DVD any more, along comes a movie like “P.S. I Love You.” It is a love letter of a film and one that should appeal to all romantics in the world. It is the kind of movie that shouldn't work. It has a really schmaltzy premise. Couple is married, in love, looking to their future when all at once tragedy strikes. Husband dies and wife is left as a grieving widow. Then she begins to receive letters from him telling her things to do in her life. Ewwwww! But somehow Hilary Swank and Gerard Butler make this movie emotionally satisfying and fun to watch.

Holly and Gerry (Swank and Butler) are a couple struggling to make ends meet. She is a real estate agent and not happy with her work while he and a friend own a chauffeur service. They bicker a lot but down deep they really love each other. Then tragedy strikes and Gerry dies of a brain tumor.

One of the plusses of the movie is you skip the illness part. They go from bickering couple to a scene at the funeral wake. Holly is inconsolable in her grief but her two best friends Denise and Sharon (Lisa Kudrow and Gina Gershon) do their best to console her. Still it seems Holly is going to drown in her grief.

Then the letters start coming from Gerry. They tell her certain things to do that will get her out of the apartment. She and her friends are mystified by these letters but it does cheer her up some. She actually gets back to living.

Swank is a solid actress who can bring a character totally to life. She makes Holly someone you empathize with from the very beginning. Opposite her Butler is macho and tender at the same time. Their chemistry is excellent and that is a real plus for this movie.

The supporting cast is solid too. Kudrow and Gershon add comic relief while Kathy Bates is tender but testy as Holly's mother. Harry Connick, Jr. is awkward as a guy who works in her mother's bar. He is supposed to be awkward so that is a good thing. Finally Harry Dean Morgan plays a man she meets in Ireland. Morgan gained fame as Izzy's doomed lover Denny on "Grey's Anatomy" and he makes a romantic impression here of the first order.

Every now and then the movie strays off on a tangent and you think this is going to ruin everything, then suddenly it finds its sea legs and rights itself. And most of those times it is the skill and charm of the actors that make every thing alright.

"P.S. I Love You" is a movie for romantics. If you don't love love and passion you are not going to enjoy this movie. It works in spite of itself and makes the heart swell with emotion. It won't win any Oscars for Hilary Swank but it will increase her fan base. Plus it will certainly gain attention for Butler and Morgan.

This is one DVD worth watching – with someone you love.

If you like spoofs, and if you don’t mind them having a political bent, then you are going to howl out loud at “Military Intelligence and You.” This spoof of a World War II military training film is right on target. It incorporates newsreel from the past clips with a cast of comedians from the present.

Patrick Muldoon is the star and he is at his pompous, dim best. Elizabeth Bennett and Mackenzie Astin are his co-stars. There is a story in the film but the jokes are the draw. I am a big Muldoon fan and in this movie he struck me funny every time he opened his mouth. So get ready for fun and watch “Military Intelligence and You.”

If you missed “Oprah Winfrey Presents: Mitch Albom’s For One More Day” when it aired on TV, or if you saw it and want to see it again – you can. The show is now on DVD and ready to entertain you again.

Michael Imperioli, Samantha Mathis and Ellen Burstyn start in this adaptation of Mitch Albom’s popular best seller. It is all about a suicidal baseball player who gets one more day to spend with his mother. Of course Mother knows best and she is able to show him how to make the best of his life. 

With Mother’s Day here, what better way to spend it than watching a movie like this one that celebrates mothers.

When “Bella” was released in theaters I never got the chance to see it. People who did told me how special it was and how enjoyable it was. Now it is out on DVD and I have learned their words are true. “Bella” is a heart-warming family film.

Tammy Blanchard and Mexican actor Eduardo Verastegui co-star in this movie about how lives can be changed by simple acts of kindness. Both Blanchard and Verastegui are outstanding in their roles and their story (which is based on a true story) will chill you with emotion.

Make sure you get this film and watch it – probably more than once.

Finally there is “First Sunday,” a comedy starring Ice Cube, Katt Williams and Tracy Morgan. It tells the story of two crooks who plot to rob a church, but they are so inept that things don’t turn out the way they should. But they turn out the way that is best for everyone including the crooks.

Ice Cube is always good in any role he undertakes, and Morgan is one of the funniest men alive so this is a movie that will keep you laughing and thoroughly entertained. Okay it isn’t classic comedy but it is fun.
 

 

 

 

 

©2008 Jackie K. Cooper

Click above to find out more about Jackie's books!