The Love Letter

Synopsis: The power of words and images to open hearts. Helen runs, miles a day, to burn off energy: she's an emotional celibate. Going through the post at her shop, she finds a romantic and poetic letter between the couch cushions, unsigned, and thinks it's for her. It melts her resistance to feelings, and soon she undertakes an affair with Johnny, a collegiate employee. (He sees the letter and thinks she wrote it to him; he quotes some of it, so she thinks he wrote it to her.) In the background are Helen's long-time friend, George, who loves her, and her mother who abruptly left on a long trip months' before. Discovering who actually wrote the letter brings insight and promise.
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Director(s): Peter Ho-Sun Chan
Production: DreamWorks SKG
  1 nomination.
 
IMDB:
5.4
Rotten Tomatoes:
33%
PG-13
Year:
1999
88 min
555 Views


(music) [Jazz]

[Foghorn Blows]

[Seagulls Cawing]

(music) I'm in the mood

for love (music)

(music) Simply because

you're near me (music)

(music) Oh, funny

when you're near me (music)

(music) I'm in the mood

for love (music)

(music) Heaven is in your eyes (music)

- [Cawing]

- (music) Bright as the stars

we're under (music)

(music) Oh, is it any wonder (music)

(music) Oh, that, baby

I'm in the mood for love (music)

(music) Mmm, why stop to think

of whether (music)

(music) This little dream

might fade (music)

(music) We put

our hearts together (music)

(music) Now we are one (music)

(music) I'm not afraid (music)

(music) If there's a cloud above (music)

(music) If it should rain

we'll let it (music)

(music) Oh, just for tonight

forget it (music)

(music) Baby, I'm in the mood

for love (music)

[Chattering]

You two stay right here this

time in the same two chairs.

Don't even switch chairs.

So, your folks

are currently in...

Switzerland, right?

- Yeah.

- Helen's mother, Lillian...

Oh, she just sent Emily

a postcard from...

Prague.

Can you just

put your finger here?

Oh, yeah, sure.

Prague is all pink,

in case you didn't know.

(music) I'm in the mood

for love (music)

(music) Simply because

you're near me (music)

- (music) Oh, funny when (music)

- [Chattering]

- (music) You're near me (music)

- [Woman] Here comes Helen.

- (music) I'm in the mood for love (music)

- All that running

has to be bad for a person.

(music) Heaven is in your eyes (music)

(music) Bright as the stars

we're under (music)

- (music) Oh, is it any wonder (music)

- [Helen Panting]

- (music) I'm in the mood for love (music)

- I do think, dear, that, whenever

I get the urge to exercise,

I lie down

until it passes over.

Good morning,

Miss Scattergoods.

[Old Lady] Jerry Dworkin

and his second wife are here,

in what used to be

Yugoslavia.

- Mmm?

- Can I have another finger here?

- Always put your postcards

in an envelope.

- Oh, thank you.

Siren, Daddy! Siren!

- Yeah, siren!

- [Both Giggling]

- [Siren Wailing]

- [Girls Cheering]

- [Man] Hey, Johnny!

- Hey, George!

[Girls]

Again! Again!

Come on, Daddy!

Yea!

Shoot!

Morning, Helen!

Hey, uh,

how about this?

Uh, A vote for me is a vote

for Loblolly-By-The-Sea"?

- How about this, Ray?

Fix the shower this week.

- The parts are on the way.

- That's what you said last week.

- Last week I was lying because

I forgot to order them.

- Ow!

- But this week it's true.

They're on the way.

- A vote for me

is a vote for you.

- Ooh, oh, that's really good!

You know, you could be

my campaign manager.

A vote for me

is a vote for you."

Whoa! Whoops.

Fix it again, Ray.

[Helen] Here, Emily.

You'll need this.

Mom, I'll be the only girl

at camp bringing a dictionary.

Good. Oh, here, um.

Phone list here. Important.

Mom, bookstore, Dad, home,

car, fax, satellite, Grandma...

You know what? I don't even know

where my mother is. Oh, your monkey.

I just got a postcard from her. She's in

Prague. She says the whole city's pink.

- I wanna go there.

- She never sends me

any postcards.

[Kids Chattering]

- [Horn Beeps]

- Rufus, move. Come on!

[Horn Honks]

- Rufus, move.

- [Panting]

[Bells Jingle]

- [Tape Rewinding]

- [Machine Beeps]

Helen, it's your ex. I said I'd

send the check by the 14th, and I will.

- (music) Only the lonely (music)

- I've got two families

to support now.

- I just can't keep paying

for everything for everybody.

- (music) Know the way I feel tonight (music)

I have bills for the ballet,

jazz, tap and classic.

- I can't do it all, Helen.

[Machine Beeps]

- (music) Only the lonely (music)

- (music) Know this feeling (music)

- Oh! Sorry!

- I'm okay. My fault.

- (music) Dum-dum-dum-bee-doo-wa (music)

- (music) There goes my baby (music)

- (music) Ba-ba-ba-ba (music)

- How come I'm always on time and

my employees are always late?

- Good morning.

I am not an employee.

I'm your manager.

And we're late because your

idea of on time" is to get here

20 minutes before anyone else.

- How can we be on time

when you're always early?

- Let me start over.

- Good morning.

- Good morning.

- How come you're late?

- I had another date

with the pilot last night.

Couldn't get my seat

back in the upright position.

- (music) Only the lonely (music)

- You know what I'm sayin'?

- [Bell Jingles]

- You wouldn't.

Hi. I have, um,

one bran walnut

banana muffin,

one apricot wheat germ scone,

one iced decaf latte,

one iced cafe mocha...

and one...

one iced double latte.

You didn't, uh, get me

a plain cup of coffee, did you?

Do you think I'll be able to start in on

the sociology section this week, Janet,

because it's filled with

all these really outdated books.

(music) [Hard Rock]

[Man] Look at that kid.

You think he's on dope?

I can give him a citation

for playing that music so loud.

Um, Helen hired him

for the summer.

Looks to me

like he's on dope.

No, he's taking care of his parents'

place. They're in Europe or something.

- Looks to me

like he's on dope.

- Well, gee, Dan,

why don't you train Yeller to sniff out

reefer like they do in the city?

- You know how they do that?

- Do what?

- Train those dogs.

- How, Dan?

Get 'em hooked on it.

[Bell Jingles]

McNeely,

where's my coffee?

- It's over there.

Good morning to you too.

- [Siren Wailing]

[Girls Chattering]

Yea!

Well, here we go! Thank you!

Greetings, booksellers.

Hey, fireman.

Hey, girls.

I found these little monkeys

hanging out of a tree.

- Hello, little monkeys. Hey, George.

- Hey.

Heard about that toaster oven fire.

What was the deal with that?

- English muffin.

- I heard it was a PopTart.

- No. English muffin.

- Did it have raisins in it?

- No, traditional English muffin.

- Thank God, 'cause raisins

can be... Poof! They just...

I had a raisin catch fire once

in my toaster, and it's...

[Laughs] All right.

Well, anyway, enjoy.

Did my books come in yet?

Jan, did George's books

come in yet?

[McNeely]

He's in love with her.

- He's been in love with her since

high school. She told me.

- [Johnny] She did not.

All right, so she didn't

tell me, but I can tell anyway.

It's typical

midlife crisis behavior.

Women don't have midlife crisis. Most

hit their peak in their 40s and 50s.

That's a known fact.

And my research suggests...

that most women reach their

highest potential at that age...

because they're finally free

of childbearing.

I was talkin'

about George.

Okay, well,

here are your books.

Uh, The Complete Idiot's Guide

to Surviving Divorce.

- The Divorce Workbook,

- Yeah. Thank you.

And, of course,

How Come Nobody Loves Me?

- [Clamor, Girls Shouting]

- Uh-oh, what's going on here?

- Oh! Oh!

- [Girls Crying]

[Panting]

- [Ringing]

- Because you're on the...

- Janet, watch the kids!

- I got 'em. Okay.

- [Alarm Continues]

- Be careful.

Daddy's going to play

with his fire hose!

- That didn't sound right.

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Maria Maggenti

Maria Maggenti (born c. 1962) is an American film director and screenwriter for film and television, who has traditionally created independent films. She was the script editor for the American television series, Without a Trace (2003) and has written many episodes for the show as well, but is perhaps best known for her feature film, The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love (1995). Her film Puccini for Beginners was in competition at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2006. She was also an activist with ACT UP for many years. more…

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Submitted on August 05, 2018

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