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      Message in a Bottle

      PG-13 Released Feb 12, 1999 2 hr. 5 min. Romance List
      32% 38 Reviews Tomatometer 66% 50,000+ Ratings Audience Score During her morning jog on the beach, journalist Theresa Osborne (Robin Wright Penn) discovers a bottle protruding from the sand. Inside it, she finds a heartbreaking, anonymous love letter. After her paper publishes the letter, Osborne tracks down the letter's reclusive author, world-weary widower Garret Blake (Kevin Costner), in the Carolinas. But, as Osborne finds herself falling hopelessly in love with Blake, she becomes wracked with guilt over the real impetus for her visit. Read More Read Less Watch on Fandango at Home Premiered Feb 20 Buy Now

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      Message in a Bottle

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      Message in a Bottle

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      Critics Consensus

      Handsome-looking but dramatically inert, Message in a Bottle maroons a formidable cast in a trite romance that lacks spark.

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      Audience Reviews

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      Katie D The ending was SO unsatisfying. The whole thing is ridiculous but the actors are so good in it. The ending ruined the whole movie. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 09/26/23 Full Review Fi S Dreadful adaption. Ironically set in a newspaper where words are everything, this a blank screen. Care factor -zero. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 09/22/23 Full Review philip m Beautiful, moving, well-acted and directed film. For once, a romance film without all the silliness. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member It was going well until the melodrama went bonkers in the home stretch. I don't know what I was expecting with the Sparks novel adaptation, but I was hoping for less orchestral music and more dialogue. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/12/23 Full Review Audience Member I've seen this movie multiple times and I really like Robin Wright, but her journalism character comes across as too demanding for Kevin Costner who is a widow struggling to come to terms with the loss of his wife. Paul Newman is really good in this. I'm sure the book is better but I could not get into the book at all. The movie as a whole is okay and worth watching if you want a tear-jerker movie. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/01/23 Full Review Audience Member Totally forgettable. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 03/21/21 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

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      Message in a Bottle

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      Critics Reviews

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      Owen Gleiberman Entertainment Weekly Rated: B Sep 7, 2011 Full Review Globe and Mail Rated: 1.5/4 Mar 22, 2002 Full Review Russell Smith Austin Chronicle Rated: 2/5 Jan 1, 2000 Full Review Tim Brayton Antagony & Ecstasy Costner has a free pass to be as lazy as he can possibly be, and the result is one of the most smugly alienating romantic lead performances that I can quickly call to mind. Rated: 3/10 Apr 3, 2012 Full Review John J. Puccio Movie Metropolis If it had just quit while it was ahead.... Rated: 5/10 Apr 18, 2009 Full Review John Venable Supercala.com Leaves one feeling empty. Rated: 4/10 Dec 31, 2005 Full Review Read all reviews

      Movie Info

      Synopsis During her morning jog on the beach, journalist Theresa Osborne (Robin Wright Penn) discovers a bottle protruding from the sand. Inside it, she finds a heartbreaking, anonymous love letter. After her paper publishes the letter, Osborne tracks down the letter's reclusive author, world-weary widower Garret Blake (Kevin Costner), in the Carolinas. But, as Osborne finds herself falling hopelessly in love with Blake, she becomes wracked with guilt over the real impetus for her visit.
      Director
      Luis Mandoki
      Screenwriter
      Nicholas Sparks, Gerald Di Pego, Nicholas Sparks
      Distributor
      Warner Bros. Pictures, Warner Bros.
      Production Co
      Bel Air Entertainment, DiNovi Pictures, Tig Productions
      Rating
      PG-13
      Genre
      Romance
      Original Language
      English
      Release Date (Theaters)
      Feb 12, 1999, Wide
      Release Date (Streaming)
      Dec 1, 2010
      Box Office (Gross USA)
      $52.8M
      Sound Mix
      SDDS, Dolby Digital, DTS, Surround
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