Valentine's Day

Maybe it was because when I saw the movie, I was an emotional wreck and my judgment was off. Maybe it was because the movies I've seen so far this year have been so utterly atrocious that it doesn't take much effort to impress me anymore. Maybe it's because Sarah Palin's memoir had some kind of brainwashing technology hidden within the pages and I'm slowly losing my pretentious taste in movies. Either way, I watched the new pre-packaged, fully processed, assembly line, ensemble cast "date movie" and as much as I knew I wouldn't like it, I kind of did anyway. Don't get me wrong, Valentine's Day isn't a particularly good movie; I just managed to enjoy it anyway.



Valentine's Day is an ensemble film in the same vein as Love Actually. The film has around twenty major stars in it and is made up of a bunch of short stories centered around Valentine's Day. The characters all live in and around L.A. It's one of those movies that takes the excitement of a big city, but treats it like a small town in that everyone knows each other. There are way too many stories and characters to describe them all, so I won't. The central story involves a florist (Ashton Kutcher) who proposes to his girlfriend and his best friend (Jennifer Garner) who is unknowingly dating a married man. Most of the stories aren't new or surprising. In fact, some of them are so obvious that you'd only be surprised if you'd never seen a movie before. But let's be honest: this movie was not made to celebrate the beauty and truth surrounding the day of love. It was made to celebrate the commercialism that the day has inspired. I think anyone paying to see this movie is aware of this.

Yes, the movie was mostly predictable. And yes, there was so much going on that when my friend asked me who my favorite character was right after the movie was over, I couldn't remember who they all were. I don't remember anyone's name. But I enjoyed it anyway. The transitions from story to story were smooth and easy. Most of the acting was fine, although; no one really had to try too hard. And a lot of it was genuinely funny. I especially loved Anne Hathaway's character. Her adult phone entertainer sessions had me cracking up. I guess there isn't much to say about this movie. Saying that it made me laugh more than any other comedy out this year is not saying a lot. This is a tough time to find movies, I know. But this one was better than When in Rome or The Tooth Fairy and not quite as dumb as it could have been. I know, again, that isn't saying much, but for me it was a nice surprise to find myself enjoying a movie. There is one more thing I need to say about Valentine's Day: Taylor Swift should never act. Ever.