.: Roberts' Reviews - Movie Reviews :.

When I was first approached with the notion of viewing the new date flick P.S. I Love You, I wasn't altogether against the idea. After all, Gerard Butler was in it and thanks to his earlier exploits as King Leonidas - the buff and bronzed warrior that was to lead 300 men against an army. In just one 117 minute film, he became the new Sean Connery where men throughout the world would go see one of his films even if the premises was sappy slop.

Welcome to P.S. I Love You one of the sappiest, sloppiest films this side of Hope Floats. P.S. stars the aforementioned Gerard Butler as Gerry, who has a brain tumor that will leave him short of a long fulfillment with wife Holly (Hilary Swank). When Gerry passes (and you just have to watch the trailer to figure that one out), Holly embarks on an odyssey of almost Shirley Valentine proportions as she begins to receive letters from Gerry that give her various instructions on what to do and how to act after his death (you thought men were controlling when they were alive, wait to you see how we manipulate beyond the grave).

With a tag line of "Sometimes there's only one thing left to say", P.S. I Love You reeks of sentimentality that works on a flat line level of emotion. Thanks in part can go to the regretful script that doesn't give us enough background on the two leads to actually believe she would end up spending the rest of the movie (the better part of a year) waiting for letters to arrive and acting on a dead man's ever wish. Hell, she didn't even seem to want to be cooperative when the poor chat was married to this chimp. The films starts off with the Holly and Gerry having an argument in their apartment followed by strange make-up sex. Holly comes across as conceited, an annoying spoiled brat that cares more about her shoes than she does people around her. And then, before even the second handful of popcorn has reached the back of your throat - Gerry is dead - and we are supposed to feel sorry and compassion for Holly's grief.

Upon her first birthday, Holly receives a cake and a tape recording from Gerry telling her that she will receive many notes over the next while and she is to follow them to the letter. Guess Gerry isn't the kind of guy that wants to let someone get on with their lives.

For reasons still not concluded, Holly does exactly what Gerry requests which includes everything form Karaoke to a trip to Ireland. Her exploits are interrupted in the film by various flashbacks in an obvious effort to getting Butler significant screen time. But even with the more background story thrown into the mix, the chemistry between the two characters registers a big fat zero. In fact, there is so little chemistry amongst the couple that you would almost think that one of the actors was a CGI creation and that the other was acting in front of a green screen.

Just how bad is P.S. I Love You? Well, it's bad enough that even a cast that includes Kathy Bates, Harry Connick Jr., Lisa Kudrow and Gina Gershon cannot lift the film about a one star rating (and I was being generous this being the holiday season and all).

When Holly's character starts an awkward friendship with Connick's Daniel, it becomes about as believable as Lindsay Lohan going sober over a long weekend at Paris Hilton's house.

But if the relationships (which also include a fling with Irish folk singer Jeffrey Dean Morgan) are awkward, the Lisa Kudrow characters lines take it to another level altogether. As best friend Denise, Kudrow's character goes for laughs in all the wrong places and none of the humor works.

P.S. I Love You will undoubtedly make money due to its star power and the time of its release, but your date will probably even enjoy I Am Legend more as at least those zombies had a heart.

P.S. I hated it.