I recently saw the movie P.S. I love you and I have to say, like most books that are adapted for the screen, I felt like it fell a little short of my expectations. I had high hopes for it because a handful of people told me they enjoyed the movie far more than the book, and though I was skeptical of this phenomena taking place in me, I felt like it may prove me wrong.
So, even though I had not finished reading the book, I decided to go ahead and see the movie. I heard they end differently anyway, so I figured I wasn’t spoiling a thing. I am almost done with the book and I have to say that I have enjoyed it more than I enjoyed the movie, for several reasons:
STOP READING HERE IF YOU DO NOT WANT ANY SPOILERS ABOUT THE MOVIE/BOOK.
The basic premise of the story is that a young woman has recently lost her husband to a terminal illness and as a final parting gift, he’s prewritten a series of letters to help her cope with losing him. These letters take her on adventures out of her comfort zone and give her the courage to heal from her loss and, eventually, move on.
Here are my top 5 reasons I choose the book over the movie:
- The movie is set in NYC with an American (with Irish heritage) marries an Irishman. The book is set in Ireland, with an Irishwoman marrying an Irishman.
- The movie creates a family unit that consists of a harsh mother, an absent father, a “weird” but not developed sister character, and maybe a brother, though we never see/hear from him??? The book uses the family unit as the support for the grieving Holly (the main character) and all characters are clearly defined and play integral roles in Holly’s recovery and growth.
- The character of Daniel was played by
Robert Downey Harry Connick Jr. and I had to keep asking myself, “Is he trying to come off as mentally challenged? Or is that just his acting style?” I hated the way he portrayed the character. The character in the book is so much more likable and stable.
- In the movie Holly finds her “perfect career” after a letter from her late husband tells her to go for it and ends up becoming a successful shoe designer. Seriously? Come on Hollywood! Give me something realistic to aspire to! In the book, she lands a cool job advertising for a magazine and has a fun set of coworkers.
- In the end of the movie Holly ends up going back to Ireland (and it alludes to the fact that she will hook up again with the old school mate of her late husband – awkward! I don’t care if it’s Jeffrey Dean Morgan…that’s just icky!) In the book however, she just takes it slow and finally agrees to have coffee with a handsome stranger.
So there – now you know more than you wanted to know, but don’t take my word for it…
