Tom Selleck and Ellen DeGeneres in "The Love Letter."

MOVIE INFORMATION

With 10 as a must-see, Jack gives this film a: Stars: Kate Capshaw, Ellen DeGeneres and Tom Selleck. Director: Peter Ho-sun Chan Rated: PG-13, with strong profanity and brief nudity. Length: 89 minutes

ROCHESTERCRITIQUE

Having seen this film, how would you rate it? 10 5 9 4 8 3 7 2 6 1

By Jack Garner
Democrat and Chronicle

(May 21, 1999) -- The new Kate Capshaw romantic comedy, The Love Letter, is the anti-Star Wars, Hollywood counterprogramming at its most obvious.

It's a quirky, small-town love story with a female lead, and nary a computer or special effect in sight. Heck, the missive that triggers the romantic complications is written on paper -- forget e-mail.

The Love Letter offers modest entertainment value for romance fans looking to sidestep the Star Wars hype, even if the film's construction is clumsy and the sentiments a little corny.

Adapted from a novel by Cathleen Schine, The Love Letter marks the uneven American debut of Hong Kong director Peter Ho-sun Chan.

Capshaw stars as Helen MacFarquhar, owner of a bookstore in the fictional Cape Cod community of Loblolly. Her employees include her old friend, Janet (Ellen DeGeneres), and two young college students, Johnny (Tom Everett Scott) and Jennifer (Julianne Nicholson). Regularly dropping by is another friend, George (Tom Selleck). He's the town fireman and apparently had a romantic interest in Helen years earlier.

Helen discovers an anonymous letter one day. The opening line -- "Do you know how in love with you I am?" -- is enough to trigger all sorts of fantasies about who might have sent the note. Through a series of coincidences, Helen thinks handsome young Johnny is the author. Johnny, meanwhile, has also found the note -- and thinks Helen wrote it.

Though Johnny is at least 20 years younger than Helen, they nervously begin an affair. But Jennifer also loves Johnny -- and makes her feelings known.

In the midst of her tumble with Johnny, Helen also begins to realize her long-repressed love for George.

Meanwhile, Janet also finds the letter, which triggers a whole 'nother set of fantasies. (Boy, for a letter that supposedly means a lot to people, they're sure sloppy about holding onto it.)

Helen's mother (Blythe Danner) and grandmother (Gloria Stuart) also come to town, adding to the confusion. But their appearance isn't well explained.

The premise is amusing, if time-worn -- that an anonymous note can be a catalyst to romantic entanglements. But the film loses momentum in a poorly constructed final act.

However, it's a pleasure to see Capshaw back on the screen (remember her screwball turn in Indian Jones and the Temple of Doom?). As Mrs. Steven Spielberg -- and mother to a large family -- Capshaw works infrequently. Here, though, she displays a welcome talent for romantic comedy.

The most appealing aspect of The Love Letter is watching her character's humorous evolution from an emotionally repressed loner to a lusty, reborn lover to a smarter, more balanced woman. Capshaw really delivers -- and stops this Letter from being stamped return to sender.