Valentine's Day

Starring: Jessica Alba, Jessica Biel, Bradley Cooper, Eric Dane, Topher Grace, Anne Hathaway, Jennifer Garner, Ashton Kutcher, Jamie Foxx, Queen Latifah, Julia Roberts, Taylor Lautner, Taylor Swift, George Lopez, Patrick Dempsey, Hector Elizondo, Shirley MacLaine, Emma Roberts, Kathy Bates
Directed by: Garry Marshall
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Comedy, Romance
2010

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Couples discuss, fall in love, and try to rekindle their love on Valentine's Day.

Review:

Tim: Valentine's Day boasts a truly expansive, impressive cast of just about every romantic comedy actor or actress you could imagine. I love the scope of the film and all the intertwining stories. It makes the movie feel bigger than it is, and it's genuinely enjoyable to see all these actors on screen in the same film. That being said, the movie suffers from the same issue many of these types of movies do- some stories are very effective, others aren't, and the bad ones drag the entire film down. This movie is fine, but nothing really special.

Since the cast is the main attraction here, that's where I'll spend the most time. Jessica Alba shows off her poor acting ability here. She's in a story with Ashton Kutcher, who's actually in the heart of the film. It felt like the movie was primarily about him, as he's connected to so many different characters. Alba's part is short, which is good because she's not strong. Kutcher was actually very good in the role. He's typically hit or miss, but he was in the right part and it highlighted his natural strengths. I liked him in the film.

Jessica Biel felt like she was out of her element and trying way too hard. I didn't believe her as a PR agent and her scenes were among the weakest of the film. She didn't do a very good job. Bradley Cooper and Julia Roberts were very enjoyable together. I liked their scenes on the plane, and although feeling a bit disconnected from everything else until the end, their scenes were always a nice break. I liked them both here. Eric Dane was fine, but his story wasn't especially interesting until the end. Topher Grace and Anne Hathaway were decent, but I didn't love them. I thought they worked well together and had some very entertaining moments. Their story could have been stronger, but it at least had some drama and resolution. Jennifer Garner was surprisingly good. I didn't especially like her character and she definitely has a few cringe-worthy moments, but overall, she did a good job. It was fun seeing Patrick Dempsey, but it was a bummer that he was playing a doctor. I'd have liked to see him stretch a bit, although his character was interesting. Jamie Foxx added nothing to the film and I thought he was a waste of time. Queen Latifah was even worse, and I wish she wasn't in the movie. Taylor Lautner and Taylor Swift were really, really annoying. Neither impressed me in the slightest with their acting. George Lopez didn't have much to do, but his presence was a welcome one, and his scenes with Kutcher were fine. Hector Elizondo was very enjoyable. I didn't so much like Shirley MacLaine, but Elizondo raised their story up higher than it would have been otherwise. Emma Roberts wasn't strong, but not terrible, either. I liked seeing Kathy Bates here, but I wish she had something to actually do.

I do like the approach of showing all these various stories, many of which are connected in some surprising ways. The whole intertwining stories thing has been done numerous times before, but it works in a film like this that is trying to sum up what Valentine's Day is like. I appreciate that the film threw some genuine curve balls in there. While a few are obvious from a distance, there were a few genuine surprises as well. I like that not everything was predictable.

As a whole, though, Valentine's Day felt like less than the sum of its parts. We spent too much time on the less effective stories, and not enough time on the characters we really liked. While it's impressive that they crammed several romantic comedies into one here, the viewing experience is still only decent. There are some legitimate funny moments, but overall, I didn't love the movie.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6



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