P.S. I Love You (film)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the film. For other uses, see P.S. I Love You.

P.S. I Love You

Directed by	Richard LaGravenese
Produced by	Wendy Finerman Broderick Johnson Andrew A. Kosove Molly Smith
Written by	Cecelia Ahern Richard LaGravenese Steven Rogers
Starring	Hilary Swank Gerard Butler Lisa Kudrow
Music by	John Powell
Cinematography	Terry Stacey
Distributed by	Warner Bros. Pictures for Alcon Entertainment
Release date(s)	December 21, 2007
Running time	126 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

P.S. I Love You is a 2007 film directed by Richard LaGravenese and starring Hilary Swank and Gerard Butler. It is based on the novel by Cecelia Ahern.

1 Plot
2 Differences between the film and book
3 Cast
4 Critical Reception and Box Office Performance
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Plot

Irishman Gerry Kennedy (Gerard Butler) and Holly (Hilary Swank), are a happily married couple living in Manhattan. The movie begins with them in their small apartment, arguing with each other after getting back from dinner with Holly's mother. Gerry told her mother that the reason that the couple didn't have children was because Holly wasn't ready yet, and Holly is mortified that he said that. They argue, Gerry complaining that he wants a baby and Holly is always cranky after work and never wants to have "hot nasty sex" while Holly points out that there will be no room for children in their tiny apartment etc. Gerry storms out of the apartment and Holly runs into a different room. After a few seconds, Gerry comes back in the apartment and Holly runs back into the living room.They run to each other and make up. They kiss and apologize to one another for arguing. The next scene is at Gerry's memorial service. He has died from a brain tumor, and all of their friends and family are at a bar/restaurant to honor his memory. Gerry's body has been cremated and placed in a urn that Holly herself designed. At the party, Holly's best friend walks around asking men if they are single, gay, or working, trying to hook up with a man. When she thinks that she has found a good man, it turns out that he is a bad kisser.

After the service, Holly is completely distraught. She does not leave her apartment, does not clean, work, or do anything but watch tv, and think about her husband. She sits watching Bette Davis and Judy Garland movies all day long, and sings along in her apartment. For comfort, she calls Gerry's cell phone just to listen to his voicemail message to hear his voice.

In the middle of a singing episode, Holly's family come in with posters, balloons and gifts wishing her a happy 30th birthday. They are shocked at her appearance, and her apartment's appearance. The family cleans the apartment and helps get her back together.

Before he died, Gerry wrote Holly a series of letters that will guide her, not only through her grief, but in rediscovering herself. The first message arrives on Holly's 30th birthday in the form of a cake, and to her utter shock, a tape recording from Gerry, who proceeds to tell her to get out and "celebrate herself". In the weeks and months that follow, more letters from Gerry are delivered in surprising ways, each sending her on a new adventure and each signing off in the same way; P.S. I Love You. Holly's mother and best friends begin to worry that Gerry's letters are keeping Holly tied to the past, but in fact, each letter is pushing her further into a new future. With Gerry's words as her guide, Holly embarks on a journey of rediscovery in a story about marriage, friendship and how a love so strong can turn the finality of death into a new beginning for life.

With each letter, we see a part of their life together which is the basis for that task. We watch as Holly moves through her memories of their old life and adjusts to her life now. Holly has her two good friends, Sharon (Gina Gershon) and Denise (Lisa Kudrow), to help her along the way.

[edit] Differences between the film and book

There are significant differences between the book and the film. In the book, both Gerry and Holly are Irish and live in Ireland, and instead of going to Ireland, Holly and her friends go on a holiday to Lanzarote; none of the book is set anywhere in America. Holly's maiden name is Kennedy, which she chooses to keep once married. Gerry's surname is Clarke. William does not appear in the book. In the book, Holly has a father who is happily married to her mother. As well as a sister, Holly has three brothers. Her sister also has a bigger role in the book.

A package with the ten letters was given to Holly at the beginning of the book by her mother, along with a message from Gerry that she was only allowed to open one each month. Daniel does not read any of the letters. In the film, Daniel has Asperger syndrome.^[1] The dream job Holly ends up with in the film is designing shoes- in the book she becomes Advertising Director of a magazine. John and Sharon's baby is named after Gerry in the book, and Holly is made godmother. Holly is Denise's Maid of Honor in the book. Holly lives in Ireland in the book but lives in America in the film and Gerry arranges a trip to Ireland where she meets one of Gerry's friends.

Gerry and Holly in the movie meet when Holly visits Europe. In the book they meet in secondary school and have been together ever since.

[edit] Cast

Hilary Swank as Holly Reilly Kennedy
Gerard Butler as Gerry Kennedy
Lisa Kudrow as Denise Hennessey
Gina Gershon as Sharon McCarthy
James Marsters as John McCarthy
Kathy Bates as Patricia Reilly
Harry Connick Jr. as Daniel Connelly
Nellie McKay as Ciara Reilly
Jeffrey Dean Morgan as William "Billy" Gallagher
Dean Winters as Tom
Dan Fleury as Kermit Tsing-Tsao
Anne Kent as Rose Kennedy
Brian McGrath as Martin Kennedy
Sherie Rene Scott as Barbara

[edit] Critical Reception and Box Office Performance

Critics gave the film negative to mixed reviews, but it was welcomed by theater-goers. In Ireland, where the film was marginally better received, Scottish actor Gerard Butler was widely criticized for his poor affectation of an Irish accent. As of January 19, 2008, the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 21% of critics gave the film positive reviews, classifying it as "rotten", based on 86 reviews, it also has an even worse 8% "rotten" rating from the Cream Of The Crop critics on their site. However the film also has a much better 76% "fresh" rating from users on the site.^[2] Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 42 out of 100, based on 15 reviews. However it also has a much better 7.2 out of 10 from users on the site. ^[3]

The film closed on Thursday March 13, 2008 with a final gross of $53,695,808 domestically and $84,186,637 overseas for a total of $137,882,445 worldwide.^[4]