The Love Letter 1999

     Helen MacFarquhar is a divorcee and she runs a bookstore in Loblolly, Massachusetts.  She runs miles a day to burn off her extra energy.  In the background is Helen’s long-time friend, George.  He is finalizing the details of his divorce and he loves Helen.  Helen’s mother abruptly left for a long trip months before.  Helen is sorting through the mail and she finds a romantic and poetic letter between the couch cushions.  The letter is unsigned and Helen thinks it must be for her?  Johnny is an employee at the bookstore and he will be going back to college at the end of the summer.  He also finds the letter and he thinks Helen wrote it to him.  Janet Hall works at the bookstore and she finds the letter.  She thinks it was written to her?  Helen and Janet argue over the letter and Janet quits her job??   

     Since the letter is not addressed to a particular person and it isn’t signed, the letter could be for anyone in the town?  I liked this movie, the scenery is very beautiful and the characters seem real.  For some reason, Helen feels old, bent and broken down but she isn’t?  The long summer days brought a feel of nostalgia and the closeness of the residents of the town was nice.  4* (I liked this movie)

88 Min, Comedy directed by Peter Ho-Sun Chan with Kate Capshaw, Tom Everett Scott, Tom Selleck, Julianne Nicholson, Blythe Danner, Ellen DeGeneres, Gloria Stuart, Bill Buell, Alice Drummond, Erik Jensen, Margaret Ann Brady, Jessica Capshaw, Walter Covell, Lucas Hall.

Note:  Imdb 5.4 out of 10, Rotten Tomatoes 33% critic 38% audience, MovieGuide.org quality 2* out of 4* contend -4*, no language, violence, sex, nudity, TheFilmFile.com 2* out of 4* Dustin Putman, Amazon 3.5* out of 5* with 174 reviews.

Special Note:  Filmed in Gloucester, Rockport, Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts.  Kate Capshaw is Steven Spielberg’s wife.  They have been married since October 12, 1991 and they have seven children.  Kate was 45 at the time of filming and Tom Everett Scott was 29.  Tom Selleck was 54.  Blythe Danner is in the role of Helen’s mother and she is only 10 years older than Helen in real life.  Tom Selleck intended to promote this film on the Rosie O’Donnell Show during his appearance in May 1999.  Instead there was a now famous aggressive debate over gun laws?  Johnny jumps into the ocean with his socks on?  I thought this was unusual??  When he emerges from the water seconds later, his feet are bare!  Did he lose his socks in the water?