It's the small seaside New England town of Loblolly By The Sea. Book shop owner Helen MacFarquhar (Kate Capshaw) sends her daughter off to camp. She's been emotionally closed and her ex is stiffing her on child support. Janet Hall (Ellen DeGeneres), Johnny (Tom Everett Scott), and Jennifer (Julianne Nicholson) work at her shop. George Matthias (Tom Selleck without his mustache) is the hunky fireman. Helen finds an anonymous love letter which sets off a series of mistaken assumptions.At best, this is a miscommunication sitcom. I'm a little confused about the confusion setup. I'm not sure why Johnny thinks that Helen wrote that letter to him. I don't understand why Janet would think the letter is for her when Helen reveals that she got the letter before her. It's not that compelling. It's not that romantic. It's not that funny. Ellen's slapstick barely cracks a smile. It's more like a jigsaw puzzle of one dimensional characters. It's interesting to see this group of actors although Selleck without his mustache is no Selleck at all. I like these actors but it's a chore to watch.

I'm a large scarred heterosexual male ex-bouncer, ex-rugby player, and ex-boxer, and I love this movie.It's no "Mystic River." It's a piece of fluff. But there is room in life for fluff, and when that fluff is engagingly shot, well-acted by attractive, likable people, cleverly plotted and full of good dialogue, there's even more room for it.I'm not the biggest Tom Selleck fan. But he's good in this. So are Julianne Nicholson (love her bald head and freckles), Ellen Degeneres, Kate Capshaw and even Tom Everett Scott (That Thing You Do!).The scenery is nice, the mood is upbeat, there's heartache and wistfulness and farce and even a little redemption.Any (male) reviewer who disses this movie is, shall we say, not perfectly confident in his masculinity. In the meantime I'll continue to catch bits and pieces of it without apology whenever it shows up on cable.

The Love Letter (1999): Starring Kate Capshaw, Tom Everett Scott, Tom Selleck, Ellen De Generes, Gloria Stuart, Blythe Danner, Jessica Capshaw, Alice Drummond, Bill Buell, Erik Jensen, Margaret Ann Brady, Walter Covell, Patrick Donnelly, Lucas Hall, Christian Harmony, Christopher Nee, Breanne Smith, Marilyn Rockafellow, Sasha Spielberg, Jack Black.....Director Peter Chan, Screenplay Maria Maggenti.Based on the novel "The Love Letter" by Cathleen Schine, Director Peter Chan's film version, released in 1999, was not a big box-office draw, not even for a romantic movie with some comedy elements. While it was not as popular in theaters, it soon became a beloved film on cable television and on VHS/DVD. Set in a seaport town in the good old USA (I forget the exact location), this is the story of a mysterious, passionately written love letter who sparks emotions and confusion among the principal characters, each who think the letter is personally addressed to them. By the end of the film, we don't know who the lover or the beloved is but the power of the letter has altered the lives of nearly everyone in the small town. The cast is made up of wonderful actors who have fared well on TV and film, among them Kate Capshaw in the lead role of middle-aged beauty Helen, a bookstore owner, comedienne Ellen DeGeneres as her friend/employee Janet Hall, young hottie Tom Everett Scott as Johnny, the young 20 something guy who falls for the older Hellen and an older Tom Selleck as the firefighter George Matthias who must compete with Johnny for Helen's affections. There are cameo roles by veteran old Hollywood actress Gloria Stuart, who is best known to modern audiences as the elderly Rose in "Titanic" (1997) and a cameo by Kate Capshaw's own daughter (with husband Steven Spielberg) Jessica Capshaw. The love triangle is between a middle-aged woman, an older man and a young man, each of whom feel as passionately for Helen as the writer of the mysterious letter. The conflict lies in Helen's indecision. Will she choose the right person ? Which man has the most to offer her ? Johnny is in a relationship with a girl his age who loves him with a passion all her own, and is in fact, a kind of reminder of what Helen was like at her age. George is in the process of divorcing his wife and has lived a worldly and eventful life. A cultured intellectual, he takes Helen on an opera date, where the tragic death of Puccini's ultra-Italian heroine Tosca moves Helen to explosive tears. There are lots of beautiful vistas of the charming coastal town, rendered beautifully by cinematographer Tami Reiker. The score is a paradise of romantic and lovely songs - " I've Never Been In Love Before", "I'm In The Mood For Love" and "Only The Lonely". Ellen DeGeneres as Janet Hall, who is consistently late to her job at Helen's bookshop, who endlessly dates men without being able to find the right guy , is simply wonderful. She has not lost her comedic flair, even though at this point in her career she was not appearing much on TV or film because only about two years before her hit mid-90's TV show "Ellen" was cancelled because of her "coming out" as a lesbian and the new lesbian subject matter of the show. Here you even find comedian Jack Black, long before he made it big, in the bit part of a fisherman. This is a moving film about human emotions and making decisions that are significant, about the human need for a passionate consuming love and the general love of escapism brought not only through books, letters, and music, but through a genuinely loving and secure relationship. This is a great film with wonderful moments and an infectious romantic spirit.

We avoided watching this movie when it was released commercially, even though we had read Cathleen Schine's novel in which this movie is based on. Director Peter Chan's take on the story looks good on the screen; what with the picturesque setting of Rockford, Ma., as the background and all the cute houses where the story takes place. The result is a film that is easy on the eye, but alas, like eating a Chinese dinner, it leaves us hungry for more.Helen, the owner of a book store, finds a letter between the cushions of the couch of the shop. She reads it, and it sounds intriguing, because the writer goes to express how deeply he feels for the person the letter has been sent to. Since it has no name, Helen assumes it has been intended for her alone. She believes Johnny, the young assistant, has sent it to her. The young man, who likes the older Helen, is only too happy to tell her how he feels about her.Basically, "The Love Letter" is a story about missed opportunities. Helen who was in love with George, the local chief firefighter, married someone else, but her marriage failed. George also is getting a divorce. George confesses he had gone away to New York when he was younger to get away from Helen and his life in town and he had also sent her a postcard from New York, which Helen had kept, but had not read the message inserted within the card. It's at this moment when Helen comes to her senses when she realizes her affair with Johnny is only a summer fling.The film will be liked by the audience for which it was targeted. Kate Capshaw, who produced the movie, is fine as Helen. Tom Everett Scott plays Johnny. Blythe Danner, Geraldine McEwen, Julianne Nicholson, Tom Selleck, Ellen DeGeneres, and the rest of the cast do good work also.The film has an ironic twist at the end when the real recipient of this letter is revealed.