Starring Hilary Swank and Gerard Butler. Rated PG. Opens Friday, December 21, at the Cinemark Tinseltown

P.S. I Love You is such a calculated chick flick that it makes the average Nora Ephron movie look like an all-male poker party. It's the story of a young widow named Holly (Hilary Swank) who has been left a series of letters by her dead husband, Gerry (Gerard Butler). Gerry's letters–which order Holly to perform such uncharacteristic acts as singing in a crowded karaoke bar–are supposed to renew her appetite for life while tearfully reminding us what a perfect soul mate she had in her hunky Irish husband. Not that we're likely to forget: Gerry is in practically every scene.

What we have here is a shameless mix of Ghost and You've Got Mail. The good news is that P.S. I Love You is directed and cowritten by Richard LaGravenese. Working from the novel by Cecelia Ahern, LaGravenese serves up any number of witty lines at a pace that should crackle with energy. Unfortunately, most of the performers don't rise to the occasion. With the notable exception of Butler–who delivers his thankless role with genuine charisma–the performances range from competent to oddly off-kilter.

Harry Connick Jr. is inadvertently creepy as Holly's doofus of a suitor. But the biggest mistake here is a miscast Hilary Swank. A movie like this lives or dies on the ability to mix a dash of bittersweet reality with a truckload of pure fantasy. Consider that while Holly puts out the panicky vibes of a confused and distraught underachiever, we're asked to believe that men can't help adoring her at first sight. It's the kind of part that cries out for Julia Roberts on a bad hair day. With Swank at the centre of this weepy fairy tale, you just can't help thinking: "What's the big deal?"