the love letter ( m ) . ( dreamworks/uip ) director : peter ho-sun chan stars : kate capshaw , tom selleck , tom everett scott , ellen degeneres , blythe danner , geraldine mcewan , julianne nicholson , gloria stuart , alice drummond running time : 87 minutes . this twee romantic comedy has been something of a labour of love for kate capshaw , who is both star and producer . inevitably , it is she who must also shoulder much of the blame for the film's failings . this surprisingly bland and ultimately uninvolving film is set in the old fashioned and laid back , picturesque seaside village of loblolly by the sea , and centres around a number of residents whose lives are changed by an anonymous love letter . helen ( capshaw ) runs the town's small bookstore , which amazingly enough , survives even though it never seems to do any business . one day she discovers the titular epistle nestled in the store's couch , and immediately assumes it was addressed to her . she hopes that it was written by george ( tom selleck ) , the town's fireman , who was also her childhood sweetheart before they went their own way with plenty of unresolved differences still simmering between them . now that he is in the throes of a divorce , she hopes for a long overdue reconciliation . but she is a little surprised when she suspects that it was possibly written by johnny ( tom everett scott , from that thing you do ! , etc ) , the handsome college student working in the bookstore for the summer vacation , who has developed a crush on her . a series of misunderstandings and liaisons follows , as several other townsfolk are similarly entranced by the lyrical letter and its mysterious author . the script from maria maggenti ( the incredibly true adventure of two girls in love ) is nicely done , but doesn't really provide a lot of insight into this sleepy little town , with its hidden secrets , or its eccentric inhabitants with their secret passions . nor does it satisfactorily answer a number of questions that continue to nag long after the final credits . the ensemble cast try hard to breathe some life into the underdeveloped script , but to little avail . we know that blythe danner is gwyneth paltrow's mother , but it takes some leap of the imagination to accept her as kate capshaw's mother here . ellen degeneres gets the bulk of the one liners as janet , the co-manager of the book store , a role that is not that far removed from the one she played in her television sitcom . this disappointing but mercifully brief film marks an inauspicious hollywood debut for acclaimed hong kong director peter ho-sun chan ( comrades : almost a love story , etc ) , who handles the material in an almost leisurely fashion . unfortunately , the film lacks any real sense of passion , inspiration or heartfelt emotions . this is one letter that should never have been opened ! 
