P.S. I Love You

The title differs just by punctuation but the film differs quite a bit. So here I'll state things I liked, didn't like, including changes and so on.

• Holly was played wonderfully by Hilary Swank, the emotion was perfect and I think she was a brilliant choice of casting.
• Gerard Butler made an awesome Gerry :).
• I don't remember much about nationality and how they met (I thought they were childhood friends... ? - I may be wrong there, I didn't read particularly carefully) but I do quite like the whole flashback of them meeting, it's cute.
• Having now looked it up on the internet it appears that in the book everyone was Irish and there was no American thing going on.
• I thought the whole thing of her sleeping with William was weird, I don't remember anything like that in the book, I thought it was too soon and in the book there is no way she would have done that (unless she was reeeeeally, reeeeeeeeeeally drunk). Though I did like the hope for them at the end of the film when they meet again (and the whole thing with her mum and his dad :P).
• I really don't like Daniel in the film though I really liked him in the book (apart from when he went back to Laura but it didn't matter because it kind of let Holly off the hook - and anyway, stories shouldn't have little neat endings all the time). In the book I thought he was rather charming and clever, and a wonderful friend to Holly whereas in the film he announces right from the start that he thinks she's 'hot'. And I think he resembles a bit of a loserish gawky teenager in the film while in the book he's more grown up and responsible. Oh yes, and (note responsibility) he owned a bar, he didn't work for her mum in a pub (more teenagish tendencies).
• I wasn't upset in the least to lose the cringeworthy moment of her coming out of a restaurant with Daniel and bumping into Gerry's parents.
• Her dad didn't leave in the book and she also had three brothers (Richard, Jack and Declan) which have been missed out in the film (Oh, and Richard's wife from hell Meredith). And Ciara's hair was never pink in the film and neither was she crazy enough in the least. I do kind of understand cutting the family out a bit but it did kind of leave me feeling like it lacked depth. The most depth was in the relationship between Holly and Gerry (as it should be) and the one between Holly and her mum.
• I liked that she got given the letters at the beginning (book) rather than them appearing one by one (organised by her mother). It sort of showed her having a bit more self control (not opening all the letters at once) and she knew exactly how many there were and how long she had to pull herself together before he was really 'gone'.
• The girls didn't go to Ireland, they went to Lanzarote in Spain. I don't think Gerry would have sent her to Ireland because it's too much dwelling and he was trying to get her to move on with her life, go out and have fun etc.
• I thought the whole shoe designing thing was rather cool as opposed to advertising but I do think it was more believable that she would get into advertising as it's extremely difficult to get into the world of design and fashion, especially with as little experience as her.
• I thought that for the time they had in the film, Denise's 'player' character was shown reasonably well though it would have been made better by a quick comment or two about her short relationships or something, rather than the walking around trying to chat guys up.
• Kennedy wasn't Gerry's last name, it was Holly's and she didn't change it when she got married. It doesn't make much of a difference in the film anyway because they wouldn't have had time to explain this point.
• Sharon and Denise didn't look like I pictured them but worked fairly well as they were.
• It was very insensitive to blurt out their happy events whilst deserted on a boat. It also made a lot more sense for it to happen at a special gathering (novel).
• They left out that guy who she bumps into at the corner shop thingy buying newspapers. This is a bit sad really as I think it would be amusing to have him at the beginning and end as a sort of 'hope' symbol or something. But I suppose he was replaced by William.

Overall, the book was better than the film but the film still made me cry (if it hadn't there definitely would have been something wrong with it) and so if you've only watched the film then you've missed out. Yeah.

On another note, I also borrowed 'No Reservations' as I saw it in the library and remembered that I wanted to see it when it first came out (I saw trailers but I don't think I remembered while/if it was at the cinema near me). So I'll be watching that one next (like in a minute, after I've gone to get some food and replenish my salt).

Oh yes, also, I made ice cream yesterday! Vanilla with biscuit (milk chocolate digestive) bits.
It's tasty :). I may blog about 'No Reservations', depends if it's any good. But with Catherine Zeta-Jones in it, it's unlikely that it won't be good.