Chick flick

I had the chance to watch P.S. I Love You, starring Hillary Swank and Gerard Butler, this week. It's a sweet, teary chick flick that I kinda liked in spite of myself.

I read the book that this movie was based on a few years ago. It was one of the vacation reads I took with me to Arizona. Though the movie differed significantly from the book in some key areas, I found myself enjoying it.

Here's the skinny: Young Holly is married to Gerry, an Irish musician. The two live in a cramped walk-up apartment in New York, and they are trying to save some money and "make a plan" to start their family.

Reality intervenes. Gerry is diagnosed with a brain tumor and passes away. Holly is adrift in grief. Then, on her 30th birthday, a cake and a small tape recorder arrive at her doorstep. It's a message from Gerry. Apparently, Gerry planned these occasional messages to her for the first year after his death.

Each message gives Holly an assignment - buy a bedside lamp, go out with her girlfriends, take a vacation, find a better job. The assignments are Gerry's way of making sure that Holly's life goes on without him. (Sweet, no?)

I thought that Swank did a good job in this film, making a sometimes inscrutable character likable and warm. Butler was wonderful as Gerry, and there was a fabulous performance by Jeffrey Dean Morgan that practically had me weak in the knees. Harry Connick Jr. played Daniel, Holly's long-suffering friend, pretty well, too. (Oh, and Holly's clothes were really fun! I may steal some ideas there . . . )

To recap - this is not a tour de force. This movie will not change your life or even make you think about it that much. But it will entertain you, and you may have to grab a Kleenex for some of the scenes. Great for a night in with the girls.