Shane MacGowan’s death immediately made me think of Hillary Swank. In 8th grade, my father gave me two romantic comedies on DVD for Christmas. I had asked him for Definitely, Maybe and P.S. I Love You, the latter of which we had seen together earlier that fall. It was my step-mom’s last-minute pay-per-view choice, and the three of us quickly became engrossed in it. He started sniffling during the scene when Swank breaks down in her apartment, after the finality of Gerard Butler’s death hits her and she feels alone in a way that she can’t articulate to her friends and family. It was maybe the only time I’ve ever seen him cry during a movie, but it made sense. He had gone through the same thing when my mom had died about a decade prior in ’99.
“Fairytale of New York” is the anchor to the whole movie, kicking off the memorial service scene with gravitas and a sense of “if you don’t laugh, you’ll cry.” Beyond the Pogues’ music being a fitting staple of the film’s soundtrack, Shane MacGowan’s lyrics and artistic energy matched Butler’s character perfectly. Gerry is a little rebellious while still being thoughtful, clever yet a big-hearted goof.
It was interesting then, going through in the weeks after Shane’s death and contextualizing some of the singles that I had liked in 8th grade by listening to the albums that they were originally on. Most of these tracks weren’t even really singles in the traditional sense that the band would have used them for promo, but more so random songs like “Tuesday Morning,” “The Body of an American,” and “Sally MacLennane” that middle-school-me had clung to. The band had a more wide-ranging sound than I realized, which made it less surprising to think about how many people made memorial posts and statements for Shane. Little did I know that this Irish band that I knew from some movie had a front man that was internationally beloved.
While there were names in the soundtrack I was familiar with, like James Blunt and The Academy Is…, I was only barely aware of Flogging Molly at the time. But I was hooked after the last scene, when Holly returns to Ireland with her mom and Dave King and company sucker punch you to the heart with “If I Ever Leave This World Alive” as the camera pans out over the Irish countryside.
And after all these years, those two rom-coms are still my favorites. While something could absolutely be said about forming connections with schmaltzy movies in early adolescence, I do think it speaks to both films’ quality that nothing else in that genre has ever unseated either one for me. In the case of P.S. I Love You, perhaps it’s partly because it isn’t just a rom-com – it’s a movie about grief that doesn’t take itself too seriously. It’s grounded, yet mystical, and I will always return to it when I feel like I’ve lost my way in the world.