The Love Letter
The Love Letter
PG-13 | 21 May 1999 (USA)
The Love Letter Trailers

A romantic comedy about a mysterious love letter that turns a sleepy New England town upside down.

Reviews
Stellead Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful
RipDelight This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.
Kirandeep Yoder The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.
Sarita Rafferty There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.
Chrysanthepop 'The Love Letter' is quite a gentle breezy sort of romantic comedy- drama. It's about opportunities that are missed because people aren't more forward about their feelings. The humour isn't wacky like in most American films. Assuming the director's seat, Chan does quite a good job of portraying the small dockside town and introducing its quirky characters. The story interestingly intertwines the lives of the characters through a love letter. The dialogues are pleasant and the acting is quite good. Kate Capshaw does a good job of carrying the film and maintains a good chemistry with her co-stars. Tom Everett Scott fits the part.It was odd to see Danner play Capshaw's mother because the age difference did not seem believable enough. Tom Selleck was alright. Ellen Degeneres and Geraldine McEwan are scene stealers. In addition, I was amazed by the whimsical soundtrack that flows beautifully with the film, pumping some energy into it and would work well as a standalone score. IU felt the film would have benefited more had their been more comedic situations. At times it gets too serious and that needed to be toned down a little. I liked how it ended without showing the two lovers kissing (as has been evident in x number of rom-coms) but instead suggesting a promising future for them together. 'The Love Letter' was a pleasant watch, a kind of slice of life film.
Gordon-11 This film is about a mysterious love letter that turned 4 people's love life upside down.The idea of the film is interesting, and the film could have been funny. However, this film is simply what a romantic comedy should not be. The characters are inadequately introduced at first, so it gets so confusing. The supporting characters come and go without adequate reasons, as if they exist just for one particular scene and then vanish into thin air. The pacing is awfully slow, that it makes 90 minutes seem more like 180 minutes.It could have been romantic and funny, but this film spectacularly failed to do either.
Marrenp I'm a large scarred heterosexual male ex-bouncer, ex-rugby player, and ex-boxer, and I love this movie.It's no "Mystic River." It's a piece of fluff. But there is room in life for fluff, and when that fluff is engagingly shot, well-acted by attractive, likable people, cleverly plotted and full of good dialogue, there's even more room for it.I'm not the biggest Tom Selleck fan. But he's good in this. So are Julianne Nicholson (love her bald head and freckles), Ellen Degeneres, Kate Capshaw and even Tom Everett Scott (That Thing You Do!).The scenery is nice, the mood is upbeat, there's heartache and wistfulness and farce and even a little redemption.Any (male) reviewer who disses this movie is, shall we say, not perfectly confident in his masculinity. In the meantime I'll continue to catch bits and pieces of it without apology whenever it shows up on cable.
jotix100 We avoided watching this movie when it was released commercially, even though we had read Cathleen Schine's novel in which this movie is based on. Director Peter Chan's take on the story looks good on the screen; what with the picturesque setting of Rockford, Ma., as the background and all the cute houses where the story takes place. The result is a film that is easy on the eye, but alas, like eating a Chinese dinner, it leaves us hungry for more.Helen, the owner of a book store, finds a letter between the cushions of the couch of the shop. She reads it, and it sounds intriguing, because the writer goes to express how deeply he feels for the person the letter has been sent to. Since it has no name, Helen assumes it has been intended for her alone. She believes Johnny, the young assistant, has sent it to her. The young man, who likes the older Helen, is only too happy to tell her how he feels about her.Basically, "The Love Letter" is a story about missed opportunities. Helen who was in love with George, the local chief firefighter, married someone else, but her marriage failed. George also is getting a divorce. George confesses he had gone away to New York when he was younger to get away from Helen and his life in town and he had also sent her a postcard from New York, which Helen had kept, but had not read the message inserted within the card. It's at this moment when Helen comes to her senses when she realizes her affair with Johnny is only a summer fling.The film will be liked by the audience for which it was targeted. Kate Capshaw, who produced the movie, is fine as Helen. Tom Everett Scott plays Johnny. Blythe Danner, Geraldine McEwen, Julianne Nicholson, Tom Selleck, Ellen DeGeneres, and the rest of the cast do good work also.The film has an ironic twist at the end when the real recipient of this letter is revealed.