Valentine's Day: Review By Vamp

When I first saw previews for this movie being showed on the TV, I had mixed feelings about it. On one side, I was completely against it because I absolutely hate Valentine's Day. It's one of the most pointless holidays in the world. A day to tell your loved one that you love them? Come on, shouldn't we do that anyway? But on the other hand, it had SO many actors and actresses that I love in it: Jessica Biel, Jennifer Garner, George Lopez, Julia Roberts, etc. etc. It just looked like a movie that couldn't be missed. I wasn't going to make plans to go see it in theaters, unless the plans came my way. And just my luck they did. I must say that I wasn't completely sure how I'd feel about the movie. The trailers weren't entirely clear on what the plot was going to be like, emphasizing on it's star-studded cast. Upon leaving the theater, I was glad that I got to see it. It's one of those movies that's kinda splattered all over the place, but little by little you see how everything fits together. I love movies like this. You can guess what's going to happen, and a lot of times you're right, and then one thing will come and slap you right upside the head, and you'll just be like "Holy sh*t..." And I love it when that happens in movies. It really makes the whole experience fun. Also, the movie made me cry. Now, I must say that this happens in a lot of movies that have a good touching or sad moment, but I was very surprised that this happened in this movie. I don't want to say anymore because I'm not going to ruin the end of the movie for you. In fact, if it wasn't for the two Taylors (Swift and Lautner) and their less than average acting, I'd be giving this movie a full five stars. It really is a great film, though, and that's something I can't stop stressing because the movie really surprised me.

Garry Marshall, director of such movies as "Runaway Bride," "The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement," and "Georgia Rule," all movies I've seen and enjoyed, directs this surprisingly good romantic comedy. His vision is great. While this movie isn't a movie that needs stunning angles and interesting filters, it relies heavily on the characters, and Marshall directs them greatly, producing a very heart-warming and touching romantic dramedy (for lack of a better word) that will really leave you surprised in the end. Take it from a skeptic, this movie will surprise, and though it may not be everyone's cup of tea, I really doubt anyone will hate it. Of course, I've been known to be wrong before. Anyhow, Marhsall does a great job with the directing, really helping the film stand on it's legs nicely. Katherine Fugate, Abby Kohn, and Marc Silverstein all write the story for this movie, while Fugate converts it into it's screenplay form. All three of the writers do a fantastic job of taking a plethora of different characters and intertwining them together in this interesting storyline. It leaves you guessing throughout the whole movie until the ending which, in some places, will really shock you. They remember, though, to give you a lot of different hints at different corners so that it KEEPS you guessing and you don't give up on it after an hour into the movie. This, along with all sorts of different characters, manages to make for an excellent and fun romantic dramedy. The writers were definitely on their game for this movie.

This movie isn't really one that, like directing, requires anything fancy in the visuals department. Granted, it's a Valentine's Day movie, so you've got to expect a plethora of pink, and it does provide just that. At the same time, though, it also gives you a lot of different views of Los Angeles, which is really cool. In one part there is a party at an Indian restaurant, and the costumes and ornaments that are used for the restaurant are very interesting to see. Also the different floral arrangements used throughout the movie are very cool. I'm not really big into flowers or anything, but I never realized just HOW many different types there are. I realize this is kind of an ignorant statement in the long run, but oh well. The point I'm trying to get across here is that, while the visuals aren't exactly a huge part of making this movie a success, they definitely help it along, and while the color pink has been an antagonizing color for as long as I can remember, this movie works it very well, and I can't complain about it being in it so much, since the movie IS called "Valentine's Day." Overall, the subtle visuals that are used in the movie are very well done, and really help keep the movie interesting.

I already talked about the storyline a bit in this review earlier, I realize, but it's definitely a very good one. Like I said, it twists and turns, and at first you wonder what the point of all of these random characters is, but then they start running into each other in odd ways, and some of the characters already know each other, and you start to realize they're aiming at something big. If you've been following the trailers, you knew what to expect, I imagine, and I should have known what they were aiming at with the movie (it's kind of like the movie "Paris, je t'aime," in a way, with all of the random stories that end up interlocking in the longrun), but when I was walking into the theater, the only thing I was expecting to see was a lot of my favorite actors thrown into the mix for a Valentine's Day movie, and what I was given was a very surprising movie that I really enjoyed. So if you're going to this movie with your significant other, thinking that it'll be a nice movie to cuddle to and ignore, you'll be very surprised that the film is a very captivating one, and will keep your interest throughout the entire thing. It's really cool how all of these different people, all living in Los Angeles, end up running together, in some parts teaching each other things, or helping each other out. The end result, as I think I've said too many times already, is very neat. So the storyline of this movie is, coupled with the acting, one of the main contributers to this movie's overall greatness.

It's going to be very hard to give you the basic overview of the movie, since there are so many competing characters and storylines and twists, that I don't want to go into too much detail and ruin the movie for you, but I'll try my best to touch a little on everyone's story, and then go into it all. To start, it's Valentine's Day, and we have Reed Bennett (played by Ashton Kutcher of "What Happens In Vegas"), a florist whose found the love of his life in Morley Clarkson (played by Jessica Alba of "Fantastic 4"), and has decided to propose to her. She says yes to him, and makes the whole day for Reed incredible. He tells the first person he can think of, one of his best friends: Alphonso (played by George Lopez of "George Lopez") who congratulates him, and gives him some props on picking the day as they drive to work. We then cut to Reed's other best friend, Julia Fitzpatrick (played by Jennifer Garner of "Elektra"), whose just been spending the past day with her boyfriend, Dr. Harrison Copeland (played by Patrick Dempsey of "Grey's Anatomy"), who has to leave for work on Valentine's Day, which has kind of got Julia bugged, but she's decided to spend the day at her friend's "I Hate Valentine's Day" party. As Julia heads for work, she gets a message from Reed, and she goes to meet him at the flower shop that he owns. She learns of his engagement and is thrilled for him. After this we go to a plane, where we meet Holden (played by Bradley Cooper of "All About Steve"), whose a businessman. He's sitting next to Captain Kate Hazeltine, whos just coming back from her active duty in the military to spend the day with the one she loves. She was initiall sleeping, but upon waking up, they start to talk and really get along well. Although she never reveals who she's going to see. Then we have Sean Jackson (played by Eric Dane of "Marley & Me"), a star football player who, like Brett Favre, seems to be running his course in the public's eye. After seeing a particularly brutal attack on him on the news, he calls his publicist, Kara Monahan (played by Jessica Biel of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre"), who tells him that she'll meet him to decide which plan of action to take. Next up we have Jason (played by Topher Grace of "Spider-Man 3") and Liz (played by Anne Hathaway of "Bride Wars") who have spent the night together. After waking up and discussing how amazing their night was, Liz gets up and has to speed out of the door, as her cell phone begins ringing. We find out that her job is as an adult phone entertainer (yes, this means phone sex), and that she clearly does not want Jason to know what she does for a living. We see her next in her other workplace, as a new receptionist for a particularly bitter agent, Paula Thomas (played by Queen Latifah of "Hairspray") who tells Liz that as long as she does as she's told and gets her job done right they'll get along just fine. We also find out that Paula is Sean Jackson's agent. The next couples we meet are Willy (played by Taylor Lautner of "The Twilight Saga: New Moon") and Felicia (played by Taylor Swift in her debut role); and Grace (played by Emma Roberts of "Nancy Drew") and Alex (played by Carter Jenkins of "Aliens in the Attic"), four high school kids, all very good friends. Willy and Felicia are the couple who are blissfully (and maybe a little ignorantly) in love with each other, while Grace and Alex want to take their relationship to the next level (A.K.A. having sex). While the latter couple experience a serious misadventure, the former show their incredibly awkward love for each other in a decent way. We then see Grace at her job, babysitting a boy named Edison (played by Bryce Robinson of "Marley & Me"), a surprisngly bright young boy, who has a crush on his teacher, Ms. Fitzpatrick (the very same Julia Fitzpatrick). Edison is being taken care of by his grandparents, Edgar (played by Hector Elizondo of "The Princess Diaries") and Estelle (played by Shirley MacLaine of "Bewitched"), who are watching him. It also seems that Edgar is having some issues with missing his mother, whom he lived with until just recently. While all of this is going on, we have a sports reporter, Kelvin Moore (played by Jamie Foxx of "Ray"), who is being forced by his manager, Susan (played by Kathy Bates of "Misery") to report a Valentine's Day "fluff" story for the public. He's completely against the idea, but he also wants to keep his job, so he sort of follows around the public and runs into such persons as Reed Bennett and Willy and Felicia as they experience the love they were meant to have. Little by little, as these various people's stories unfold, we begin to see storylines crossing, and soon everything begins to intersect into one mass story that not only surprises, but also warms the heart of the audience. The acting in this movie is phenomenal. I mean, you pretty much expect it from every single one of these actors and actresses as they're all very famous. I know, I know, just because you throw together a bunch of really good, really famous actors, doesn't mean it's always going to turn out great, but this one did, and you'll be really surprised. In fact the only downsides in the acting department are Taylor Swift and Taylor Lautner. Let's just put it this way, Swift needs to stick to her singing career (which, in my opinion, isn't that great either, but we're not really here to talk about that), and Lautner is just... well... Lautner. They're the reason I decided not to give this movie a full five. Their seens, though awkward and funny, are a little corny and dumb at some points. So overall, the acting of this movie was very well done. The casting was a DEFINITE contribution to this movie's success.

All in all, this movie was a huge surprise to me, and a great surprise at that. For a movie that takes place on and has to do solely with my least favorite holiday ever, I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I urge any other skeptics (like mysely) to go out and see the movie. You all may not like the movie as much as I did, but what's the harm in giving it a shot? It's not really a movie that you HAVE to see while in theaters, but when you're surrounded by a bunch of people who are enjoying the movie as much as you are, then it really adds to how much you enjoy the movie, and that feeling will stick with you. So whether you go to see your favorite actor, or you're actually curious to see how it goes, I think that you're in for a real treat. The directing was great. The writing was superb. The visuals were subtle, but very nice. The storyline was excellent. The acting (for the most part) was phenomenal. Overall, the movie was just great, and as I've repeated probably a thousand times, VERY surprising. So if you're having doubts about seeing this movie, then I continue to urge you to see it. I'm pretty sure it'll be a great experience for you, just like it was for me. I'm not saying everyone will like it, but most of you will, I'm almost certain. So give it a shot. I'm almost POSITIVE that you will not get disappointed with it in the SLIGHTEST. I know I didn't!!!!!