Broken hearts

Grade: D

Surprisingly, Bradley Cooper (All About Steve) was the only actor to reprise his role in the sequel to last year's star-filled, romantic-comedy blockbuster, He's Just Not That Into You 2. Those who were unaware that this film was being made might know it better by its alternative title, Valentine's Day.
Director Garry Marshall (Georgia Rule) failed to realize that there is no correlation between movie success and the number of celebrities who star in said movie.
Joining Cooper is a who's who of big time Hollywood stars. With most films, this would be a blessing, but Valentine's Day is bogged down with too many characters.
It is nearly impossible to develop a great character in only two hours with such a large cast. If the movie had been around six or seven hours long, then there would have been enough time to fully flesh them out.
Another glaring problem with the film was how hackneyed and unoriginal the story and concept is. It was as if Marshall and screenwriter Katherine Fugate had just watched every romantic comedy made since 1980, took every cliché they could find and threw it onto a reel filled with every star in Hollywood.
Guy runs through an airport to find girl, makeout scene in front of large crowd, girl breaks guy's heart and vice versa – the film is made up of practically every cliché in the book.
There were a few standout performances of the film, but this can only be attributed to the fact that they had the most face time.
Shockingly, Ashton Kutcher (Personal Effects) is probably the highlight of the cast as Reed. He is definitely the best developed out of all the characters and one of the most entertaining.
Another notable cast member is Jennifer Garner (The Invention of Lying) in her role as Julia. Both Reed and Julia naively go though similar heartbreaks, with both showing great character development and acting.
Even the above average acting of Julia Roberts (Duplicity) couldn't save her segment of the movie. The film's purpose was an attempt at encompassing the different feelings that people as young as elementary students and as old as bingo players experience on Feb. 14, but having the tone and story shift so much in Roberts's section – from romantic couples to a mother and son pairing – is quite jarring.
Marshall had the opportunity to shoot an incredibly sentimental reunion between mother and son, but failed. That missed opportunity makes the movie that much worse.
The film also failed to fit the mold of a 'love story.' Every relationship in the movie was pretentious and there was no sincere emotional attachment between any couple.
The name and release date alone is enough to get couples in the seats, but seeing this film is the best way to ruin a date for Valentine's Day.

E-mail: arts@ubspectrum.com