MOVIE REVIEW: VALENTINE'S DAY

I have actually been looking forward to seeing Valentine’s Day for some time now and with an all-star cast that includes; Patrick Dempsey, Eric Dane, Tohper Grace, Queen Latifah, Jessica Biel, Jessica Alba, Jennifer Gardner, Emma Roberts, Bradley Cooper, Ashton Kutcher, Taylor Swift, Taylor Lautner, Julia Roberts, Jamie Foxx, George Lopez and my personal favorite, Anne Hathaway, how could you go wrong? The answer is the script.

Valentine’s Day follows the story of what seems to be twenty different characters over the course of their Valentine’s Day. Some find love, some lose love and some rekindle it. Some of the more memorable storylines are Julia Roberts playing a military woman on her way home via plane to see her special valentine which turns out to be a nice little twist. The Jennifer Gardner, Ashton Kutcher, Patrick Dempsey and Jessica Alba story was an enjoyable storyline dealing with love and loss. And Anne Hathaway’s character/story was probably the funniest of the film. Then some of the storylines were borderline miserable to watch. The Taylor Swift/Taylor Lautner storyline was nearly unwatchable. If there is one thing I learned from the film, it’s that Taylor Swift needs to stick to music and let the professionals do the acting. Same goes for the Twilight star Taylor Lautner, the kid can’t act.

Valentine’s Day had a lot going for it. Great cast, most of the stories were enjoyable, but its downfall was the script. You had A-list actors delivering D-list lines. Many times during the film I just laughed and shook my head at the horrible writing. I’m sure to most viewers, problems with the writing go unnoticed, but to some, you can’t help to sit there and roll your eyes.

A sequel is already in the works with some but not all of the characters from the first film which will be titled, New Year’s Eve… Clever. Who will be returning has not been decided yet, but hopefully the writing team will not be. The movie was enjoyable in parts, but deserves an Oscar when compared to When In Rome. I believe it is worth a watch and will give it a cautious three out of five.