Valentine’s Day {Movie Review}

It’s like Love Actually, but instead of Christmas, the central occasion is Valentine’s Day. The official plot description goes: “Intertwining couples and singles in Los Angeles break-up and make-up based on the pressures and expectations of Valentine’s Day.” It has a Hollywood star-studded cast and directed by the director of one of the most well-known romantic comedies of all time, Pretty Woman, good reasons to be curious about it and wanna see it. Tatsie had been so looking forward to this movie since she first saw its trailer months ago, so we watched it last Friday.

I wasn’t actually having huge expectations of the movie because there are way too many actors and therefore way too many stories. In the end, though, I realized that it wasn’t too bad after all. Sure, it’s not as great as Love Actually, but it was better than He’s Just Not That Into You, another story-mosaic film. I suppose my main issue with it is that it’s too unrealistic. All the stories were happily-ever-afters that were shallowly presented as there was no time for character development. There were no poignant “aww I can relate” moments that tugged at the heartstrings or if there were, they weren’t highlighted with the right soundtrack or ample time. Nevertheless, it was enjoyable with spatters of humorous scenes and unexpected twists and lots and lots of eye candy. Eric Dane is definitely Mcsteamy and how come I never realized until now how cute Ashton Kutcher is?

***SPOILERS! DO NOT READ IF YOU PLAN TO WATCH THE MOVIE!***


That said, my favorite characters and story arcs were:

*Ashton and Jennifer’s stories – their respective stories with their lovers and then their own. I love Ashton’s proposal to Jessica: “My father told me that if I found the girl that was too good for me, I should marry her.” I liked the way Jen described herself as Ashton’s go-to-girl, the one with whom he watches the films and eats the food that his girlfriend doesn’t want to. I liked the way he described her: “like sunshine.” I loved the scene where Jennifer pretends to be a waitress to get back at Patrick, the way she described the menu – “then he takes the pig’s small useless heart and chops it into itty bitty pieces,” – and the way she put the heart on the table and told him to decide later as he must be finding it hard to juggle decisions. The scene near the end when Ashton and Jennifer kiss and break off, describing it as “awkward” was funny too. They were my favorites to look at – Ashton is so cute and Jen is so pretty! I’ve loved her since Alias.

*Bradley and Julia’s stories – it was enjoyable to watch their conversation on the plane. I really thought they’d somehow get together in the end, so I was kinda shocked when Bradley turned out to be Eric’s gay partner. This was totally unexpected for me. I did not see that coming! I also did not expect Eric to announce that he was gay. I mean Mcsteamy, gay?? Julia’s twist was nice, too. Though I was expecting her guy to be a son, I did not expect it to be that particular boy because I thought his mom was already dead.

*The old couple. I always get touched by old couples still in love. Touching line – Grandson: So Grandma was that beautiful woman? Grandpa: Grandma is that beautiful woman.

*Anne Hathaway’s phone sex scenes. They really cracked me up. I loved how she could change her voice and accent. That scene with Queen Latifah doing it too was hilarious as well.