Starring: Julia Roberts, Ashton Kutcher,Jennifer Garner, Shirley MacLaine, Hector Elizondo, Jamie Foxx, QueenLatifah and Patrick Dempsey
Distributor: Roadshow Films
Runtime: 124 mins. Reviewed in Nov 2011
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It’s really a 2 hour plus movie equivalent of valentine’s day cards,posters and romantic gifts, roses and chocolates and dinner dates, infact, the date movie par excellence. It was made for the romanticaudience at the multiplex for a light night out. To that extent, it iscritic proof.
This is a Los Angeles story, so geared principally for US audiencesensibility, more extraverted than introverted. There is a lot oftravel in and around LA , especially with the delivery of flowers asthe shop at the centre of the film has a busy, busy day. (Even JuliaRoberts is seen in a stretch limousine at Rodeo Drive and the chauffeurasks her whether she has ever shopped there and she replies that shedid once and it was a big, a huge mistake – that joke is in the finalcredits!)
So, Julia Roberts, not in so many films in recent years,is one reason to see the film even if for most of it she is sittingnext to Bradley Cooper on a long haul flight. It is probably the ratherstarry cast appearing in quite a number of stories which are graduallyinterlinked that is the main reason for buying a ticket to see it. And,it depends on whether you like the stars or not.
The film opens with Ashton Kutcher, which seemed something of a badmove, but he is at the centre of the story, proposing to Jessica Alba,helping his best friend, teacher Jennifer Garner, who is in arelationship with Patrick Dempsey (but you know something is wrong).Actually, Ashton Kutcher’s character is rather nice as is JenniferGarner so there is a pleasant happy/sad story there. Oldies willappreciate Shirley MacLaine and Hector Elizondo (who has appeared inevery Garry Marshall film for nearly 30 years). There is also JamieFoxx, Queen Latifah and Jessica Biel, Eric Dane for Grey’s Anatomyfans, let alone Patrick Dempsey, Taylor Swift for the music fansappearing with Taylor Lautner for the Twlight fans. For the youngadults there is Anne Hathaway with Topher Grace. Something for everyone– even Bryce Robinson, aged about seven who has a crush on… (nospoiling the plot!).
At the beginning, TV executive Kathy Bates orders sports reporterJamie Foxx to go out and report on Valentine’s Day from people in thestreet – and tells him she wants plenty of ‘fluff’. So that is whatthis film is, plenty of dream fantasy, plenty of romantic fluff.
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