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The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 20, 2007

P.S. I LOVE YOU

Seeing "P.S. I Love You" is like dating someone new and having to put up with all of their annoying friends. As long as you can focus on the main relationship, everything progresses at a sweet pace.

The heart of this helium-light romantic comedy is Holly Kennedy (Hilary Swank) and her husband Gerry (Gerard Butler). Holly dated only one other person before she married Gerry nine years ago. Growing old together seemed the course their love boat was sailing.

Then Gerry dies.

Holly finds herself drowning in a sea of despair. Her friends and family cannot shake Holly from this deep depression. The solution comes in the form of letters from Gerry. Just before he died, Gerry penned a series of notes all designed to help Holly get on with her life.

Swank turns in a passable performance as Holly. It will be hard to watch her work and not think about how an actress like Jennifer Garner could have given the performance a little more depth, especially if you saw Garner's "Catch and Release." That film had a similar theme.

That's because Swank is at her best when she plays flawed characters such as in "Million Dollar Baby." She never comes across as being completely comfortable in this role.

The best scenes are those that feature Swank and Butler, whether they are flashbacks or just the romantic fantasies of Holly's imagination. This is an 180-degree change for Butler from his brutal work in "300." But he has the Irish charm to make this role work.

There are some very sweet and endearing moments between the two. It is a shame that the movie's key plot point limits Butler's participation.

Had the focus just been the two lovers, this would have been a romantic tale for the ages. The problem is all of the peripheral characters. Lisa Kudrow is reduced to playing another version of her character from "Friends." Harry Connick Jr.'s role as a suitor with no social skills is more painful than playful. And Gina Gershon is wasted as Holly's rather normal best friend.

All of these characters distract from the heart of this movie: the deep love affair.

In the flood of new films opening for the holidays, "P.S. I Love" is without a doubt the best date movie of the bunch.

PG-13 (adult themes, brief nudity); 126 minutes

NATIONAL TREASURE: BOOK OF SECRETS

Instead of just coming out and telling you what I think of "National Treasure: Book of Secrets," here is a clue: 31.

Take some time. Got it? See, 1931 is the year that the Hoover Dam was started. The structure is named for the 31st president of the United States, Herbert Hoover. Hoover's middle name is Clark. So the move gets a C.

What? None of that made any sense? Well, now you know what it feels like to watch the movie.

That's the kind of disjointed, illogical logic that drove the original "National Treasure" and has returned to haunt the sequel. In fact, everything about this film feels just like a reshoot of the original movie.

Nicolas Cage is back in the role of Benjamin Franklin Gates, an adventurer who has an unbelievable ability to unravel obscure historical clues. No, I really mean it. His abilities are unbelievable.

This film has him on a quest to clear his ancestor's name. The clues start with the John Wilkes Booth diary and take Gates and his merry band of treasure hunters to Paris, Buckingham Palace and the White House. He only has to break into Queen Elizabeth's office and kidnap the president of the United States to wrap up the mystery.

Each step moves ahead with such fanciful leaps that the movie becomes more comical than adventurous.

The movie would be a complete wash if not for some well-staged action sequences.

There is really only one way to enjoy "National Treasure: Book of Secrets." Ignore all urges to think of the script in any logical terms. Accept that this is just a movie that depends on smoke and mirrors to create the illusion that it is far smarter than it really is.

PG (action scenes); 124 minutes

Rick Bentley,

McClatchy Newspapers

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