The new film Valentine’s Day has created much buzz because of its all star cast. These talented actors combined with the movie’s themes and characters keep Valentine’s Day from being a typical chick flick.
The film tells the story of 10 people in Los Angeles on Valentine’s Day whose stories interconnect in sometimes surprising ways. From love between two grandparents (Shirley MacClaine and Hector Elizando), to elementary school crushes, the film looks at the universal ups and downs of love at all ages.
The music in the film reflects the variety of types of love the movie portrays. Classic love songs like “On the Street Where You Live” from My Fair Lady make an appearance in the movie as does country singer Taylor Swift’s “Today was a Fairytale.”
Swift herself acts in the movie, portraying Felicia, a shallow teenager who believes love is purely about beauty. Swift and her onscreen boyfriend, Twilight star Taylor Lautner, provide the film with comic relief. Lautner’s character, Willy, tells Felicia that he is too self conscious to take his shirt off in public, obviously a laughable statement to anyone who has seen Lautner’s performance as the often-shirtless werewolf Jacob Black in New Moon. The scenes surrounding Swift and Lautner’s characters are not extremely well-written, but they certainly bring laughs.
Providing a realistic contrast to Swift’s character was Grace (Emma Roberts), another high school student. Grace is the typical girl next door, driving a beaten-up car and trying to figure out where her relationship with her boyfriend Alex (Carter Jenkins) is going before they go off to college in the fall. Audience members can relate to Roberts and Jenkins’ situation and Roberts and Jenkins have the audience rooting for their relationship when things do not go as they planned.
Bradley Cooper is his usually charming self as Holden, a man who ends up sitting next to an army captain (Julia Roberts) on a flight to Los Angeles. Through discussion of the hardships of leaving behind loved ones and commitment issues, the interactions in this subplot prove the film’s sweetest.
Patrick Dempsey plays Dr. Harrison Copeland, a doctor cheating on his wife of 15 years with a beautiful fifth grade teacher (Jennifer Garner). Dr. Copeland bears a striking resemblance to Dr. Derek Shepherd, who Dempsey plays on the hit TV show Grey’s Anatomy.
Unlike Dempsey, Eric Dane, who also stars in Grey’s Anatomy, doesn’t repeat his television role in this film. His character, washed up football player Sean Jackson, seems to be a womanizer at the film’s beginning. However, when Sean holds a press conference to announce that he is gay, that illusion shatters and more twists are in store.
The movie’s other love stories are the most predictable. Two best friends fall in love (Garner and Ashton Kutcher), two others confront each others’ flaws (Topher Grace and Anne Hathaway) and of course, a romance blooms between two workaholics who hate Valentine’s day (Jamie Foxx and Jessica Biel).
While the film does have many predictable moments, the writers still manage to throw the audience a few curveballs. This is what brings Valentine’s Day out of typical chick flick realm and makes it more enjoyable and smart.
This is a perfect date movie for Feb. 14, of course, and Valentine’s Day is bound to become a Valentine’s Day classic.