P. S. I Love You is directed by Richard Lagravenese, and stars Hilary Swank, Gerard Butler, Lisa Kudrow, Gina Gershon, James Masters, Kathy Bates, and Harry Connick Jr. The film is based on a novel by Cecelia Ahern. ***

Based on the novel of the same name, P. S. I Love You follows the life of a woman who was happily married for nearly a decade - and then her husband suddenly dies of a brain tumor. About a year after his passing, though, she comes across letters he wrote to her, which explain to her how to live her life to its fullest, with him gone. ***

The film has an interesting premise, but the fact is that it's nothing we haven't seen before. It's your typical “romance movie with a gimmick”, which has already been done to perfection by so many other directors…. And did I mention the thing drags on for over two hours? This is not a bad movie, it just isn't a great one, nor does it bring anything new to the table. ***

Perhaps the aspect about the film I found to be the most hit and miss was the performances. I actually enjoyed the efforts from the supporting cast more than those of our leading lady. Hilary Swank (The Next Karate Kid, Million Dollar Baby) has proven herself an excellent actress on numerous occasions, but she just doesn't seem like the ideal candidate for this particular role. The best performances of the film are those of Kathy Bates (Misery, About Schmidt) and Harry Connick Jr., and it's a shame they're relegated to “supporting character” status. There just isn't any real character development here, which is a disappointing considering the high hopes I had going in. ***

And then there's the tone of the movie. The whole thing just feels largely negative, which I'm sure is a far cry from the director's original intention. It feels as if the husband is attempting to control his wife's future from beyond the grave. Maybe if they'd used another Beatles song title, “Don't Bother Me”, this could have been a more interesting experience. Even in the movie's more successful moments, this thing just doesn't work. Nothing quite overcomes the sense of negativity and darkness throughout. ***

The pacing and the length are the greatest weakness here. If you're going to make your movie last longer than 2 hours, it had better be a masterpiece. Unfortunately, P. S. I Love You, is south of masterpiece status. The supporting cast is the best thing the movie has going for it, and even they're overshadowed by the dark storyline and a heroine who never truly evolves or develops. ---

Image And Sound:

Overall, the DVD looks clean through the good majority of the movies. Well-lit scenes, in particular the outdoor ones, look fantastic. Unfortunately, darker scenes tend to look fuzzy and grainy on the DVD presentation. On the good side, though, the picture is never so bad that it will detract from the experience of watching the film. Additionally, as with numerous other Warner Bros. releases of recent months, this one has both widescreen and fullscreen presentations on the same disc. ***

Most of the film's sound is music and dialogue, and all of it sounds terrific on the DVD. There are no audio problems to speak of, the film sounds great throughout.

As far as the bonus material on the disc goes, there's nothing worth writing home about. The conversation of the source book's author is very short, clocking it at under ten minutes. You'll wish the experience was longer, as this all-too-short featurette will leave you wanting more. The music video from James Blunt delivers what it promises, nothing less, nothing more. You'll undoubtedly enjoy it if you're a fan of his music, though. Also included here is a set of deleted scenes, but like the deleted scenes you get on most movie DVDs, it isn't hard to see how these didn't make the final cut (and considering the overlong run time, there's stuff in the final cut that could just as well have been dropped off here.) Rounding out the special features on the disc is the “Snaps” featurette, which is an advertisement of sorts for the game played throughout the movie. Seems more like a joke than anything else. Considering the limited extras here, it wouldn't surprise me if a double-dip was down the road.

Final Words: