'P.S.' ... this movie's mediocre

After watching "P.S.," Dylan Kidd's romance, I think there are five sins every romance movie commits. \nFirst, find yourself a couple of attractive leading stars; then pull some heartstrings here and there to make the audience coo first, cry next and coo again at the end; recycle the same plot that was cliché even when Shakespeare wrote it; throw in some empty, meaningless comic relief side characters and finally rinse with some quirky angle which makes us believe this romance is the one that breaches the formula.\nAnd because of this I'm utterly convinced that a) anyone can make a romantic movie, and b) it apparently takes someone extremely talented to make a romantic movie worth watching. Kidd, I'm afraid, just ain't got what it takes.\nLouise Harrington (Laura Linney), an unfulfilled 30-something who works the admission's office at Columbia's School of Fine Arts, once loved an artist named F. Scott Feinstadt. When a young aspiring artist (Topher Grace) with the same name, same face and same talent applies for Columbia, Louise's passions are stirred and her love is rekindled, although Kidd makes an editorial decision not to be entirely clear if she's just loving the original or the reincarnation.\nIt's the worst decision the film makes. \nThe first four sins of romance movies are forgivable. But it's the fifth prong where "P.S." falls flat on its face. Its quirky angle has so much promise when the film decides to ignore it, it's simply unforgivable. Is this F. Scott her lost love? Who knows? I can't spoil it for you because the film never reaches a conclusion. It flirts with the metaphysical notion, but never decides. Oh well! \nLinney and Grace are actors whose presences I genuinely enjoy. Linney is brilliant and poignant, and this film, alongside her work in "Kinsey," makes her one of last year's best actresses. Grace is moving toward serious roles now, and is a charming actor. Their acting work in "P.S." is noteworthy, even if I don't believe their May-December romance for one second because the script gives me no reason to believe it. \nThe DVD has the film, and that's about it. So what's left is a film with rudimentary imagination and lackadaisical fantasy. I'd have loved to know where this film could have gone. It had its chance to be something more and something unique. Instead, it wildly misses its cue.