Review: Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son

Reviews

P.S. I Love You

A middling effort for Hilary Swank

By ALICIA POTTER | December 19, 2007

2.0 Stars

Hilary Swank and Gerard Butler

From misty-eyed to crumple-faced, Hilary Swank weeps with the best in her second consecutive middling effort for director Richard LaGravenese (Freedom Writers). Tears aside, she’s stiff and offputting as Holly, a young widow mourning the charismatic Gerry (Scottish actor Gerard Butler, all twinkly in shamrock boxer shorts because he’s playing an Irish guy). Imp that he is, Gerry has arranged to send Holly 10 letters, post-mortem, to ease her grief — and her bitchy streak. Gerry is the perfect dead man, showing up shirtless à la Ghost or in stagy flashbacks. (The couple’s meet-cute recalls those old Irish Spring commercials.) But soon the missives don’t arrive swiftly enough, and the pile-up of female stereotypes and fantasies evokes little that’s fresh or moving. The kicker, though, is Holly’s love of Bette Davis movies. More than a contrivance, it’s a rueful reminder of all that this “women’s pic” isn’t. 97 minutes | Boston Common + Fenway + Fresh Pond + Circle/Chestnut Hill + suburbs

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