Its not too difficult to understand why Valentines Day became a hit when it was released in February. Not only was it perfect timing and had a huge star cast, but its almost the perfect date film. Its safe, should ensure neither dater has a too hideous a time when they watch it, and it talks a lot about romance so that people on a date can feel like theyre being romantic without putting any effort in, especially as this is like a super-concentrated rom-com. However whether its a movie people would want to revisit beyond that first watch is another matter entirely.
The film has the feeling of having been concocted from finding screenplays for about 15 films that werent good enough to be made on their own, and then shoving them all together in the hope that as an ensemble rom-com itll work. And it really does feel like lots of different, unconnected stories, as ensemble films normally go beyond the disparate characters bumping into one another, and have some sort of unifying thread. However Valentines Day is just a lot of little stories that seem to have little to do with one another, other than being somehow based around relationships and romance.
Youve got florist Ashton Kutcher discovering that his dream relationship with Jessica Alba is a bit of a sham, unromantic Topher Grace dealing with the complications of a new relationship with part-time phone sex worker Anne Hathaway, Jennifer Garner dating Patrick Dempsey, who it turns out is married, and Bradley Cooper and Julia Roberts seemingly flirting with each other on an airplane. Into the mix theres Taylor Lautner and Taylor Swift experiencing teen love, Emma Roberts deciding whether to lose her virginity, footballer Eric Dane contemplating the end of his career as well as whether to come out as gay, while the likes of Jessica Biel, Queen Latifah, Hector Elizondo, Shirley Maclaine, Jamie Foxx and George Lopez also show up for their own little plots.
Its certainly a starry cast, but with so many stories, each one gets so little screen time that it doesnt really add up to all that much. Its just a lot of very typical rom-com stories, with each told in a brief concentrated form.
By about two-thirds of the way through youd be forgiven for thinking the person who wrote the script is actually a big old cynic, with everyones relationship falling to bits due to lies, personality clashes, shallowness, lethargy and confusion. At this point it seems the film might actually turn out to be something rather interesting, especially when we get to Jessica Biels I Hate Valentines Day party, but of course this is only the set-up for the inevitable descent into twee romanticism as the movie wraps itself up in the sentimental, in order to ensure viewing couples feel all lovey-dovey at the end. Theres nothing terribly wrong with Valentines Day, but its incredibly lightweight for a movie that managed to grab such a massive star cast.
The Blu-ray version offers a nice sharp picture, with excellent clarity, although the colours are a little softer than you might expect. Likewise the audio is good, but as its not the sort of soundtrack thats designed to give your speakers a workout, its not as huge an upgrade from the DVD as it can sometimes be.
What the Blu-ray certainly has over the DVD is a lot more bonus features. While the DVD just includes a Sex & The City 2 trailer and some deleted scenes, the Blu-ray can boast that, plus a pretty funny Gag Reel, a Jewel music video (although nothing from either Taylor Swift or Jamie Foxx, who are actually in the film, which is a bit odd), along with an audio commentary, and a couple of featurettes. Theres also a bonus disc of the movie on DVD and as a digital copy. The deleted scenes are particularly worth a look, as its difficult not to feel while watching the movie that a lot of the stories have been foreshortened just to ensure the movie runs a sensible length. However if this really is representative of what was chopped its largely short bits of exposition that might have actually helped the film, particularly with Julia Roberts character its surprising just how barely there some of the stories were to begin with, such as the one involving Taylor Swift and Taylor Lautner, where you wondered why ei
ther of them bothered to turn up. Overall though its a decent if unspectacular selection of features for a decent yet unspectacular film.
Overall Verdict: The good date movie, as its so safe and unapologetically sentimental that itll only upset full-on cynics. That said, it may make you and your loved one feel nice and cosy, but neither of you are likely to think its much more than a collection of tried, tested and not particularly interesting rom-coms, all shoved together.
Special Features:
DVD and Digital copy of the film
Exclusive Sex and the City 2 trailer
14 Deleted Scenes with Intro from Garry Marshall
The Stars Confess Their Valentines Day Stories Featurette
Gag Reel
Jewel Stay Here Forever Music Video
The Garry Factor Featurette
Audio Commentary With Director Garry Marshall
Reviewer: Tim Isaac