‘Valentine’s Day’ a little too sappy on the big screen
When it comes to ensemble movies
– whether it is a comedy or drama – the director and writers
really have to pull out all the stops to make them work. The
connections between the characters can’t seem too forced or too
unbelievable. And with the screen time split between 20 or so
characters, the dialogue and actions they perfor
m have to be enough to make viewers care about them in
minutes.
There have been ensemble movies that do it right
– like Robert Altman’s
”
Nashville,
”
and Richard Curtis’
”
Love Actually.
”
And then there are movies that really get it wrong in my opinion
such as Paul Haggis’
”
Crash,
”
which others may argue was actually good since it won three
Oscars.
”
‘Valentine’s Day’ a little too sappy on the big screen
When it comes to ensemble movies – whether it is a comedy or drama – the director and writers really have to pull out all the stops to make them work. The connections between the characters can’t seem too forced or too unbelievable. And with the screen time split between 20 or so characters, the dialogue and actions they perform have to be enough to make viewers care about them in minutes.
There have been ensemble movies that do it right – like Robert Altman’s “Nashville,” and Richard Curtis’ “Love Actually.” And then there are movies that really get it wrong in my opinion such as Paul Haggis’ “Crash,” which others may argue was actually good since it won three Oscars.”
So when I first saw the preview and the long list of well-known actors in “Valentine’s Day,” which was aptly released two days before the holiday of the same name, I wondered if this would be a good ensemble or a bad one.
Since it was directed by Garry Marshall, who directed “Beaches,” “Pretty Woman,” and “The Princess Diaries,” as well as many other fun movies, I gave it the benefit of the doubt.
The movie circles around Reed Bennett (Ashton Kutcher) and florist who proposes to his live-in girlfriend Morley (Jessica Alba) on Valentine’s Day before he heads off for the busiest flower day of the year. Reed’s best friend is Julia Fitzpatrick (Jennifer Garner) who believes she has finally found the perfect guy in heart surgeon Harrison Copeland (Patrick Dempsey). But even the densest of viewers will probably figure out before Julia heads off to her job as a teacher that Mr. Perfect is still married to someone else. Julia’s dreams of having a wonderful Valentine’s Day instead of spending the day with her crazy Valentine’s Day-hating single pal Kara (Jessica Biel) are going to be dashed, and Julia is the only one who doesn’t know it.
Kara connects us with Sean Jackson, a football player who has his own career and love-life issues, as well as his agent Paula Thomas (Queen Latifah) who doesn’t really end up with any action in the movie. But she does play the role of bringing Jason (Topher Grace) and Liz (Anne Hathaway) into the movie. They are the 20-somethings who have just started dating. He works in the mailroom at the agency and Liz is a temporary receptionist who has an interesting moonlighting job on the side, which makes Jason a bit unsure of their relationship.
At the other end of the spectrum, we’ve got Egar (Hector Elizondo) and Estelle (Shirley MacLaine), the happily married couple who have been together for decades. At least until one confesses to a long ago indiscretion. And their grandson Edison (Bryce Robinson) who is missing his mother – and most viewers should be able to figure out who she is – but also is pining away with puppy love of his own.
There are the crazy teenagers in love, played by Taylor Lautner and Taylor Swift, and a broadcast sports reporter (Jamie Foxx) who can’t stand Valentine’s Day though he is stuck with a man-on-the-street assignment of interviewing people about what the holiday means to them.
The dialogue is pretty cheesy, and most of the connections in the movie are tenuous at best. There wasn’t much that happened that I didn’t predict after the first 15 minutes of the movie. Perhaps the most telling thing about the movie is that the moments that made me laugh the most were the outtakes during the credits.
For a movie that has a lot to say on love – as well as lots of actors – I would suggest skipping “Valentine’s Day,” and watching one of my favorites, “Love Actually.” The movie uses the same ensemble format, but it just has so many more sweet, joyous and heartbreaking moments. Somehow the short moments each character is on screen are packed with emotions. The movie is packed with talented actors such as Emma Thompson, Liam Neeson, Keira Knightley, Colin Firth and more.
There are some other similarities between the movies – a kid who is desperately in love, a couple of cheaters, a whole lot of others who are just crazy about each other. But it has a lot more depth in the movie since it shows a lot more of the good and bad sides of live – like the spouse who suspects her husband has cheated, a sister who gives up her own personal life to care for her mentally ill brother and a husband who is mourning the loss of his spouse.
It has more depth than “Valentine’s Day,” which overall has a feeling of sappiness, maybe a little bit like the holiday itself.
Melissa Flores can be reached at mf*****@pi**********.com. She writes a blog at http://melissa-movielines.blogspot.com where readers can find her take on the best romantic moments to grace the big screen.
