P.S. ... I shouldn't watch this movie

So as my "me aculpa" for being a big enough dolt to forget to write my blog this week, I'm going to expound endlessly anyway on something extremely relevant to yesterday's date. February 14th, known by myself as singles awareness day and my dog's birthday (she's 11!), is a date where all of these couples come out of the woodwork. Its a date that girls expect grand gestures for and guys get sweaty palms and start freaking out over the types of chocolate, the dozen roses, the sweet cards, and on occasion jewelery. I personally find it all amusing to watch. Leading up to this date, my friend Rachel and I were contemplating what to do with our pathetic single selves. We decided that we would do the cliches of single girls on valentines day and get more pathetic as the day droned on. So we're going to the movies, going shopping where we will beg the people at Lindt to sell us chocolate at the prices they will be tomorrow, put on sweat clothes, and eat all of the chocolate while watching P.S. I Love You and crying our eyes out. Now while our plans are shifting to include a lot more social interaction, the thoughts of P.S. I Love You are still in my mind.

Now, I am not a girl who cries in movies. I'm not going to lie, when I saw Rent and Les Mis live, I was bawling like a small child, but for some reason movies never push me to that point. (And yes, that includes The Notebook, which by the way is just a ridiculous film) Then I saw Hillary Swank throwing herself her 5th floor walk-up wearing her dead husband's shirt and singing along with a black and white Judy Garland. By the end of the movie I could not see through my own tears I was crying so hard. The reasons for this shift are unknown. 

Why this movie was at the top of my selections for a day of single valentine's fun brings up the question of how women are shown they are supposed to behave when they are single. Granted her husband is dead and she is in mourning, but supporting characters give other examples of single women and the things that they do. My own personal favorite is the line of questions asked by Lisa Kudrow's character to unsuspecting men. Are you single? Are you gay? Do you have a job? And then a kiss to see if there's a spark. I like her methods personally. She's on a mission and determined to get her job done, which is not something you often see women in movies doing. Both of her friends are strong, self assured women who balance out the sadness emanating from both Hilary Swank's character and her mother on occasion. The mother suffers from the same heartbreak that her daughter has, but has had an additional ten or so years to deal with this. She strongly holds her daughter together and tries to make her see the hurt that never goes away.

Why does this film stand out for me? It could be that it is just a legitimately good movie (doubtful, I'm a film snob). It could be the endless amounts of Irish accents (possible, I'm an accent lover). It could just be that it makes me cry.  This is the most likely of the reasons. Emotional catharsis is cleansing for any person. Crying, one of the forms of it, is more indicative of emotional health than it is of emotional instability. So guys, don't be afraid of women who cry. It means that she is probably less psycho than other girls.