The Love Letter . Tucson Weekly . 06-01-99

The Love Letter

DIRECTED BY: Peter Chan

REVIEWED: 06-01-99

Releasing a film the same weekend as Star Wars might at first seem insane, but the folks at DreamWorks are smart enough to realize that older viewers and women are two huge audiences not targeted by the Lucas blockbuster. Hence, The Love Letter: a romance with 40-plus-aged characters and lots of women. Kate Capshaw plays Helen, a bookstore owner whose faith in love is restored when she receives an anonymous letter she believes is meant for her. The letter is then found by several other characters, who all interpret it according to their own emotional needs. This premise gets tiring quickly, the main character is unlikeable and the slow pace may make you wish you'd stopped for coffee before hitting the theater. At the same time, there are a number of elements that are just wacky or unexpected enough to be enjoyable: Ellen DeGeneres, playing an overly determined heterosexual, dispenses blunt sarcasm and practical one-liners; there's the all-too-rare H-wood circumstance of a woman (Helen) bedding someone half her age; a strange All-That-Heaven-Allows-inspired feminist character (Jennifer, played by Julianne Nicholson) spouts academic rhetoric; Tom Selleck tests his powers without his mustache; and an older lesbian couple anchors much of the story.

--Polly Higgins

Full Length Reviews
The Love Letter

Capsule Reviews
The Love Letter

Film Vault Suggested Links
The Big Muddy
Love and Other Catastrophes
Dream for an Insomniac

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