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Valentine's Day


What it’s about:

Valentine's Day follows the intertwining storylines of a diverse group of love-sick Los Angelenos as they navigate their way through romance and heartbreak over the course of one Valentine's Day. Couples and singles experience the pinnacles and pitfalls of finding, keeping or ending relationships in a day in the life of love.

What we thought:

Valentine’s Day is one day of mixed perceptions and emotions. Some people may feel that it’s a money-making gimmick, while others feel it's the perfect day to confess their undying love to that special someone. Either way, the day is perfectly designed to pull anyone through the emotional wringer; whether they’re in or out of love, or simply indifferent to its significance.

When Pretty Woman director Garry Marshall decided to put a host of A-listers in his film, little did he know he was concocting a recipe for bland trifle rather than for a delectable chocolate soufflé. While both are sweet and attractive to the eye, only one can truly delight the senses, and this film is no chocolate soufflé.

Many may hate me for saying this but Valentine's Day is so much less than the sum of its A-list parts (from veterans such as as Shirley Maclaine and Julia Roberts, to new kids on the block Taylor "I'm a werewolf, Bella" Lautner and Emma Roberts). You expect fireworks to go off at every turn, but many of the star pairings fizzle rather than sizzle.

Ashton Kutcher plays a cute-and-quirky florist who proposes to his hesitant girlfriend Morley (Jessica Alba). Workaholic Kara (Jessica Biel) is planning her annual anti-Valentine’s Day party, but fears no one will come. While aspiring sportscaster Kelvin (Jamie Foxx) has to cover all the craziness of Valentine’s Day, what he really wants to do is follow the big news ageing football star Sean (Eric Dane) is about to reveal to the world.

The movie starts from the early morning of Valentine’s Day and by midnight you’ve endured love, loneliness, heartache, betrayal and sorrow; and that pulls all the right strings. We all remember our first love, the ups and downs that followed; matters of the heart are so beautifully intertwined that no matter how much you hate the day, it's no use denying the positivity and goodwill it promotes.

There is plenty of eye-candy for both guys and girls; from a sexy Hathaway to a wet half-naked Dane and a rather animated Biel, Valentine's Day also doubles as a who's who of Hollywood's most beautiful. It may lack the charm and wit of the British film Love Actually, which did the same thing around the theme of Christmas, but so close on the heels of another ensemble rom-com He's Just Not That Into You, Valentine's Day feels more like an exercise in trying to squeeze as many stars into 120 minutes of soapy soppiness.

We should probably be bracing ourselves for a New Year's Day/Easter-themed ensemble fluff piece soon.

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