nan | 楠木

P.S. I Love You is a classic example of self-contradiction: it is a romantic comedy, but the plot is about a girl who has lost the love of her life; the core of the story is almost depressingly sad, but the picture needs to be cheerful and optimistic. And to its credit, it actually manages to pull this off.

Hilary Swank (in an unlikely role for this two-time Oscar winner) is the poor girl named Holly whose husband Gerry (Gerard Butler, best remembered as King Leonidas of 300 fame) has passed away due to cancer. Holly still feels that Gerry is around, though, as she frequently receives letters that he wrote before his untimely passing.

The letters (a total of ten) are meant to help Holly make the transition and start life afresh – but to the audience, it’s the story of their love retold. Through flashbacks we learn of how the two met and share some of the most memorable moments of their life together. Of course, beneath all this there is that sadness of inevitability, of knowing that their love is short-lived, but the film mashes this with comedic scenes to keep the general tone uplifting.

There are definite moments of cheesiness, and some of the comedy is much too routine stuff, but thanks to the strength of Swank’s performance (she did, after all, win two Oscars) and the counter-intuitive but surprisingly good chemistry between her and Butler, the film does just enough right to pass as genuine in emotion. Just beware – it’s a weepy film, so prepare the Kleenex.

P.S. I saw this at Singapore airport for free.

6/10