Too much of everything

Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike

It's complicated... I really like the directing, acting and writing but, there are issues with the way it's shot that I just can't deny. As much as I love the storytelling and the fantastic performance but, there are also certain scenes that didn't need to exist.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

Some people give this movie bad reviews....but I don't know why. Yes there are lots of famous people and the plot/people can get confusing at times. But seriously it is so cute and will warm your heart. I just watched this on Valentine's Day and my wife and I loved it. EXTRA: Taylor Swift dances in this movie and it is pretty magical.

Of all the named-after-holiday Garry Marshall movies, Valentine's Day is by far the best. Told in several vignettes and featuring an all-star cast, audiences can delight in any number of romantic short stories that revolve around the most romantic holiday of the year.In one, Julia Roberts plays a soldier flying home who sits next to a kind and nicely dressed Bradley Cooper. In another, Taylor Lautner and Taylor Swift give an absolutely adorable performance as two high schoolers spending their first Valentine's together. And on the other end of the spectrum, Shirley MacLaine and Hector Elizondo play a decades-long couple who attend a drive-in showing of one of Shirley's old movies, Hot Spell--too cute! And in what might be my favorite (although it's really hard to choose one), Jessica Biel throws an anti-Valentine's Day party for her single friends.There's a story for everyone in this movie; it's seriously cute!

Valentine's Day (2010): Dir: Garry Marshall / Cast: Ashton Kutcher, Jennifer Garner, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Biel, Jessica Alba: Here is a romantic comedy that has the right theme but not quite the right delivery. Garry Marshall's film addresses how Valentine's Day can surprise in both positive and negative ways. The problem is that Marshall fails in dealing with several subplots especially since nearly everybody acts like an idiot. Marshall is capable for good projects such as Georgia Rule, and he is capable of producing garbage such as the overrated Runaway Bride. Among the saving graces are Ashton Kutcher as a florist who proposed to his girlfriend and must warn a friend about her date who is actually married. Jennifer Garner is also good as a teacher in a deceitful relationship and who is targeted for a surprise valentine. The rest of the ensemble struggle through shameful circumstances. Anne Hathaway as a phone sex person who keeps her phone on during the most inconvenient times. Her scenes are painful to watch especially since turning her phone off during work hours might be the intelligent thing to do. Her reconcile with her boyfriend is also phony. Jessica Biel plays a promoter who hates Valentine's Day and must deal with a sports figure. She ends up checking empty e-mail boxes and mourns the lack of attention. Jessica Alba plays Kutcher's girlfriend in the film's opening but that relationship goes south pretty bloody fast. The film could have been better constructed but some superb concluding twists on identities save this from total hate thus preserving the theme of the day. Score: 6 / 10

As said in the Summary, this film is trying to imitate Love Actually (LA) and failing abysmally.People of all generations with love interests and stories etc that are only there to draw a crowd of all ages. Except for the teen-aged love stories which are absent in LA and might as well have been absent here too - blatantly obvious they are only there to further Taylor Swift's singing career (since she can't act and her song is in it).This film has too many characters and spends too little time on most of the relationships for them to even matter in the scheme of things.In addition to this the producers of this film were unoriginal when naming characters and the plots for said characters: A male chasing after a female in the clichéd airport scene where he hopes to not regret telling her something (also done in LA). A character named Julia in this and a character named Juliet in LA. A character named Kara in this character named Karen in LA. A character named Harrison in this who is cheating on his wife and a character named Harry in LA who is cheating on his wife. A phone sex operator in this and two porn stars in LA for "comedy" (done better in LA). A single parent in this and a single parent in LA. A child who says he needs to tell his love interest how he feels by himself when asked if he needs help (done in both).This film threw in a token gay relationship which was really quite pointless and was akin to the president in LA and the staffer when their relationship was made public. They didn't even have the guys kissing or anything - maybe the actors didn't want to, but this makes it unbelievable and apparently "token". Talking of token, both this and LA have the token "dark skin tone and white skin tone" relationships with adults and children.The people in this film fell in love so quickly it was ridiculous and went out on dates just because they had no one...typical Hollywood agenda there.