Movie Review: Valentine's Day, starring most of Hollywood, but focused mainly on Jennifer Garner, Ashton Kutcher, Jessicas Alba & Biel, Jamie Foxx, Taylor Swift and more
Valentine’s Day opens and revolves around floral shop owner (what else?) Reed Bennett (Ashton Kutcher), a hopeless romantic with an important proposition for his girlfriend Morley (Jessica Alba). A proposal less than three minutes into a film is likely a new Hollywood record. We’re then introduced to a myriad of characters somewhat randomly: a sexy doctor (Patrick Dempsey), his special lady friend (Jennifer Garner), a backup sports anchor forced to cover the day of romance (Jamie Foxx), and even an air-headed high school student (Taylor Swift in her film debut).
[image-1]It quickly becomes clear that randomness doesn’t exist in Valentine’s Day’s universe, and every love-soaked tale and sordid story is somehow tied to one another. It’s cute and clever, but would be perhaps more believable in a one-stoplight town instead of the megalopolis of Los Angeles. This film owes something to Love Actually, though Valentine’s Day doesn’t execute the trick as flawlessly. But if Valentine's Day is flawed, it’s an easy flaw to overlook if you’re not trying to hate the movie.
And you won‘t hate Valentine's Day. Of course there are going to be clichés, but there are also instances of creativity that might just pull at your heart if you’re not dead inside. The ensemble cast here really shines, with Garner, Kutchor and Jessica Biel standing out among the crowd — though young Bryce Robinson and Swift nearly steal the whole show. Seriously, the kid’s story arc almost makes the movie.
As the Sex and Love guy, I’ll say gentlemen, Fandanoing tickets to this harmless rom-com is far from the most tortuous of February 14th activities you could get trapped into. Plus it might earn you points toward that one thing you’ve been begging her to do for months but she always refuses.
Valentine’s Day is contrived, both in this film and in reality, but it's still a worthwhile venture — the film, specifically. It’s cute and fun, with a couple of surprises and laugh-out-loud moments. You could do much worse with your holiday plans. For those of us who will be alone on the 14th, the film still holds up and likely won’t leave you crying … at night … home alone … with your cats. Plus, a quasi-sequel revolving around New Year’s Eve is in the works, so you might as well get used to it now.
Valentine’s Day is in theaters February 12th, and comes Rabid-approved.
Valentine’s Day is once again upon us, bringing with it a spike in both florist-related expenses and the bitterness of the lost and the lonely. V-Day also usually comes gift-wrapped with an influx of romance-fueled media, a style exemplified by the star-studded romantic extravaganza creatively titled, you guessed it, Valentine’s Day, directed by Garry Marshall (Pretty Woman).
The holiday itself is rife with stories ranging from passionate love to vile, ugly heartbreak. The film Valentine’s Day does its best to hit those key points and few in between by casting a who’s-who of A-to-D list Hollywood elite in a terrific ensemble. The character’s tales weave in and out of each other, producing a tapestry of love and lust, of sadness and redemption. But is Valentine's Day just an example of cramming every recognizable actor onto one screen, or does the movie work as a fun and lighthearted 120 minutes?
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