Movie Buff: “Valentine’s Day”

(Courtesy of Warner Bros.)

Set on Valentine’s Day in Los Angeles, “Valentine’s Day” tells the story of several different strangers and the overlapping occurrences that they have.

Starring Ashton Kutcher, Jessica Alba, Julia Roberts, George Lopez, Jennifer Garner, Taylor Lautner, Taylor Swift, Eric Dane, Jessica Biel, Queen Latifah, Jamie Foxx, Kathy Bates, Anne Hathaway, Topher Grace, Hector Elizondo and Shirley MacLaine, the film doesn’t live up to past performances of its ensemble cast.

In the film, there are varying degrees of different relationships from high school lovers (Swift and Lautner) all the way up to a couple that has been together for over 50 years (Elizondo and MacLaine).

Mazatl Perez, a 19-year-old sophomore studio arts major, said almost anyone could relate to the film.

“The film has multiple parts for any and everyone,” Perez said. “There is a certain character that someone will relate to.”

The film’s plot relies too heavily on clichéd romantic gestures and subplots. Some students said they think that the overemphasis to incorporate cheesy romantic elements takes away from the film.

Zacharia Nakib, an 18-year-old freshman open-option major, said the film relied too heavily on its clichés.

“Its elements of realism were wrecked by its clichés,” Nakib said.

The film plays heavily on the modern idea of what Valentine’s Day is. Many of the plots are sappy and contrived. One of the characters is an elementary school boy who spends majority of the film gushing on about how he is lovesick and how he must tell his mystery girl. Despite the disturbing image that this portrays, it also sends the message that it is OK for a young child to be lovesick.

Another unrealistic aspect of the film is the high school romance of Swift and Lautner’s characters. Swift plays the overly ditzy high school girl who isn’t a cheerleader and Lautner is her equally dense, athletic boyfriend. While there is an attempt to accurately show the ridiculousness of high school romances, the robotic acting of Swift makes it impossible to concentrate on the relationship of these two. Swift constantly delivers her lines as if she is reading them off of a teleprompter with two emotions—peppy and overly peppy.

Hathaway played the girlfriend to Grace’s character. Hathaway’s character moonlighted as an adult phone sex hotline operator. While the scenes in which Hathaway took a phone call from a bathroom were humorous, they seemed to be placed in between scenes only for cheap laughs.

The main romance of the film was between Kutcher and Garner’s characters. In typical “boy meets girl” fashion, these two characters start off as friends then realize by the end of the movie that they are perfect for each other. In the beginning of the film, both Kutcher and Garner are involved with other people, but through a series of unfortunate events they wind up single. They spend majority of the film coming to the conclusion that they are perfect for each other and that they should explore their friendship further. In true Hollywood fashion, these two end up together for a perfect ending.

While “Valentine’s Day” has an all-star cast, it is far from all-star acting and plot. There is nothing new or breathtaking about the film; it is the same romantic comedy that has been done over and over. Despite the fact that the film was obviously made as hook to appeal to any romantic heart on Valentine’s Day weekend, students would still recommend it as the perfect complement to the holiday.

“I would recommend the film because it’s a funny, light-hearted comedy,” Nakib said. “It is a good way to celebrate Valentine’s Day, but I wouldn’t see it otherwise.”

Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Kenna Egbune at Ikenna.egbune@colorado.edu.

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