Valentine’s Day (2010)
By: Garry Marshall (director), Katherine Fugate, Abby Kohn, Marc Silverstein (story)
Starring: Jessica Alba, Kathy Bates, Jessica Biel, Bradley Cooper, Eric Dane, Patrick Dempsey, Hector Elizondo, Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner, Topher Grace, Anne Hathaway, Carter Jenkins, Ashton Kutcher, Queen Latifah, Taylor Lautner, George Lopez, Shirley MacLaine, Emma Roberts, Julia Roberts, Bryce Robinson, Taylor Swift
Intertwining couples and singles in Los Angeles break-up and make-up based on the pressures and expectations of Valentine’s Day.
Here is what you need to know about Valentine’s Day: It isn’t as vile as you may be expecting (Or at least, as I was expecting), but it isn’t exactly good, either. It is Love Actually sans charm, a wisp of a confection with little depth, and a gaggle of very talented actors portraying characters who are kind of cute and maybe occasionally funny but whom you will, for the most part, not really give a shit about because the film doesn’t take any real risks.
I’m sure that the filmmakers believed they were being terribly progressive by revealing that super studs Eric Dane and Bradley Cooper were gay for each other all along (Le gasp!), but out of the myriad and varied romantic couples shown in the movie, they are the only lovers who don’t kiss. Even Shirley MacLaine and Hector Elizondo were making out, for fuck’s sake. Don’t be so quick to pat yourself on the back for including The Gays, Hollywood, it still doesn’t count. Furthermore, it’s a huge shame, because while I could have taken or left Dane, Cooper was really rather lovely and it would have been nice to see him in a role where he got to show the genuine intimacy I’m confident he’s capable of conveying. Ultimately, it was his interaction with Julia Roberts that was the most compelling and memorable part of the film to me, possibly because it wasn’t so burdened with the responsibility of romance.
As an aside, I continue to wish I liked Jennifer Garner more, but I just don’t. Everything I see her in drives this further home for me, it seems. Jessica Biel, however, is growing on me.
If you’re excessively fond of any of the actors in this (And there are plenty), it’s not a total waste of your time to see it. If you’re just looking for a clever rom-com with an ensemble cast, watch Love Actually again instead.
