| For those in love with love--and even for those who think they're jaded and over it--Valentine's Day and its superb cast are the uplifting elixir that's called for. Director Garry Marshall must have called in every favor he had in Hollywood to line up this amazing cast. Much as Robert Altman does in his best films, Marshall follows intertwining and intersecting couples around Los Angeles as they hook up, break up, and act up as Valentine's Day--with all its intense expectations--looms. Bradley Cooper plays one half of a couple struggling to get back on track. Julia Roberts plays an army officer en route from Iraq (!) to visit a lover halfway around the world. Jennifer Garner is appealing as the girlfriend of a cad (Patrick Dempsey), who managed to overlook telling her he was married; will Garner's character go all Fatal Attraction? Standouts include the always-charming Anne Hathaway, whose character supplements her income with a freelance gig that, shall we say, involves using multiple accents over the phone--much to the consternation of her beau, played by Topher Grace. Shirley MacLaine and Hector Elizondo play a long-married couple whose strong marriage may be rocked by an old and very inconvenient truth. And young stars Emma Roberts, Taylor Lautner, and Taylor Swift sparkle enough to draw in younger viewers. And if love doesn't always go as planned for these couples (and singles), it's Marshall's deftness as a director that keeps the scenes moving along crisply to the next lovers, or victims. Marshall seems to be aiming to achieve for Valentine's Day what Richard Curtis did for Christmas in Love Actually--and if he falls a little short, it's not due to any lack of star power or onscreen dazzle. "Love is the only shocking act left on the planet!" exclaims Ashton Kutcher's character. If so, viewers of Valentine's Day can expect to be shocked--into a warm romance with this, yes, valentine to love. --A.T. Hurley |
