Film Reviews

Valentine's Day

• Rating:
• Director: Garry Marshall
• Starring: Bradley Cooper, Anne Hathaway, Jennifer Garner, Jessica Biel, Jessica Alba, Julia Roberts, Ashton Kutcher, Patrick Dempsey, Jamie Foxx, Eric Dane
• Details: US/90mins (12A)

Broader than a before picture on an episode of Operation Transformation, this purposely slight, glossy production sees Hollywood's elite and beautiful gang up to make a film with Pretty Woman helmer, Garry Marshall. Your enjoyment of the resulting amassing of A-list wattage will depend on your tolerance of movies where ridiculously attractive people have problems like us mere mortals. Do you buy Ashton Kutcher as sweet florist? What about Julia Roberts as a marine? Treading similar ground to the superior He's Just Not That Into You, Valentine's Day is the cinematic equivalent of being distracted by something shiny for an hour and a half. It's Valentine's Day in Los Angeles, and a concoction of couples are planning their day of romance. Kutcher is proposing to a career driven Jessica Alba; Jennifer Garner is having an affair with Patrick Dempsey; while Taylor Lautner and real life missus Taylor Swift just get off with each other a lot. Throw Jamie Foxx's annoying News Reporter, Jessica Biel's neurotic PR person, and a barrage more stars into the mix and you get the gist. Marshall's latest foray into the romantic comedy world will be a box-office smash, mainly because of the cast, but also because you don't have to think about it - not one bit. You can stroll into your local multiplex, significant other by your side and walk out an hour and a half later none the wiser on life, relationships or anything particularly enlightening. But that wouldn't be why you were going in the first place. You wanna see movie stars looking all cute and stuff, and you'll damn well get it. Of course some of the couplings don't work at all - note to Patrick Dempsey: randomly juggling doesn't make your character quirky - but there is enough charisma packed on screen to make this one worth an outing on date night. Hopefully Hollywood takes notice of Topher Grace's romantic comedy chops now - he's the strongest of the lot here.

Review by Mike Sheridan