I disliked this film immensely when I saw the trailer - I don't know what it was but it just looked really cheesy and cheap. The vast amount of characters in it just made me think that it was a rip off of Love Actually so I put Valentine's Day down as a film that I had no intention to see. However my interest was piqued by all the tweets raving on about how great the film was. Had I misjudged Valentine's Day? I decided today was the time to find out. Valentine's Day is a homage to love seen through a variety of relationships in very different stages. First dates, long term relationships, marriages, teenage love and even pre-teen love - it is depicted here in this fabulous film. The film is directed by Garry Marshall who is no stranger to chick flick having given us the ultimate chick flick, Pretty Woman in 1990 which went on to smash box office records. Since then he has directed films such as The Runaway Bride, The Princess Diaries and Raising Helen.
There are 20 characters involved but I guess you can say that Reed Bennett played by Ashton Kutcher is the main character. As the owner of Siena Bouquet which is a flower shop, his job is integral to all the characters in the film. Similar to Love Actually, the characters in the film are all connected to each other. The film starts off with Reed proposing to his long time girlfriend, Morley played by Jessica Alba. However his employee and friend, Alphonso played by George Lopez and his best friend, Julia Fitzpatrick played by Jennifer Garner do not think that Morley is right for him. Julia meanwhile is head over heels with the dishy Dr Harrison Copeland played by Patrick Dempsey. She is a school teacher to a bunch of lively 10 year olds whom include Edison played by Bryce Robinson who is determined to show his Valentine how he feels about her. Meanwhile Edison's grandparents, Estelle and Edgar played by Shirley MacLaine and Hector Elizondo who have been happily married for over 50 years face a crisis of their own. From mature love to teenage first love we have Grace played by Emma Roberts who is Edison's babysitter. She is dating Alex played by Carter Jenkins and the two of them plan to lose their virginity on Valentine's Day but alas nothing seems to go to plan. On the oyther hand, Grace's best friend, Felicia played by Taylor Swift is dating Willy played by Taylor Lautner and have decided to wait before they take the plunge.
Meanwhile sports reporter, Kelvin Johnson played by Jamie Foxx is given an assignment by his boss, Susan played by Kathy Bates to find juicy Valentine's Day stories around the city. Rather ironic considering that Kelvin hates Valentine's - the real story that he wants is about superstar quarterback, Sean Johnson played by Eric Dane. Sean's career is in crisis and the question on everyone's lips is will he or won't he retire. Therefore he really needs the help of his sports agent, Paula Thomas played by Queen Latifah and his PR, Kara Monaham played by Jessica Biel. Valentine's Day is a day that fills Kara with dread so she decides to tackle it head on by organising a 'I Hate Valentine's Day' party, the problem is that not one person has RSVPed. Kara is also close friends with Julia but sadly she is going to be out of town visiting her gorgeous Dr so will not be able to make the party. Liz Curran played by Anne Hathaway is Paula Thomas's assistant but moonlights on the side as a phone sex operator to pay off her huge debts. However things get a bit prickly when she meets Jason played by Topher Green who is a small town guy from Indiana. Meanwhile thousands of feet up in the air is US. Army Captain Katie Hazeltine who is on a long haul flight to visit her loved one. Sitting next to her is Holden played by Bradley Cooper, a dashing gentleman who Katie strikes up a bond with.
Los Angeles plays a perfect backdrop for the vibrant scenes in Valentine's Day with locations such as downtown LA, Malibu, Hollywood, Venice, Beverly Hills and San Fernando Valley looking very lush. There may be over 20 main characters in this movie but Los Angeles is definately the 21st. Remember last year when I was raving on about He's Just Not That Into You which contained a list of movie stars as long as your arm yet managed to pull it off with a great dialogue? Well Valentine's Day achieves this implicity with a cracking storyline along with a laugh out loud script. Garry Marshall, really got the balance just right and we are given enough time to get to know the characters and really root for them. Everyone from Taylor Swift to Jessica Biel to Julia Roberts are convincing in their roles and I really loved Ashton Kutcher and Jennifer Garner's characters. Valentine's Day may indeed be Garry Marshall's love letter to LA but it has made me fall head over heels with it.
Someone described He's Just Not Into You as all the lost scenes from Sex and the City merged into one. I think that is a bit of a cheap shot. What it is is a tale of twenty and thirty-somethings who are at critical stages in their lives. Gigi played by Ginnifer Goodwin is a sweet hearted lady who is searching for the love of her life but in her search to do so misreads all the signals. She is befriended by cynic Alex played by Justin Long who begins to advise her on the traits of men and utters those immortal words; He's Just Not Into You. Janine played by Jennifer Connelly who is Gigi's best friend is married to Ben played by Bradley Cooper and are going through a rough patch which results in him developing a relationship with Anna who is played by Scarlett Johansson. Meanwhile Anna is having an on and off thing with Conor played by Kevin Connolly who is quite clearly crazy about her but sadly for him it is not mutual. Anna finds herself confiding in Mary played by Drew Barrymore who is also looking for love and has joined the online dating scene. Then there is Beth played by Jennifer Aniston and Neil played by Ben Affleck who have been together for seven years but Neil is in no hurry to pop the question.
After seeing the trailer I was really looking forward to seeing this film but despite the hype of the book I was not sure what to expect. I was not disappointed because the film proved to be even better than I expected. All the ingredients for a great film were there; wonderful believable characters, a great script and funny dialogue. Yes the ending was a bit inevitable but trust me there are some surprises along the way. The relationship between Gigi and Alex is superb and very entertaining to watch. I have never heard of Justin Long (according to Wikipedia, he is the guy in those Apple ads) and I have no idea who Gennifer Goodwin is but they really make this film the wonderful piece of work it is. The film borrows from the scenarios from the book such as; why has he not called you? Why is he not sleeping with you? Why he has not asked you to marry him and uses them as a basis for the outline of the plot. You would think that a movie with quite a lot of characters and entwined plots would end up being a tad bit cramped but director, Ken Kwapis does a great job of keeping things on track.
Do you remember that episode of Sex and the City when Burger gave Miranda a few tips on guys? She'd been out on a date but the guy had not called her and Miranda who is an astute and savvy woman could not work out why. Burger nailed it in six simple words; he's just not that into you. There it was, one sentence that would go on to set millions of women free. Then some clever dickey bird (or two to be precise) decided to put it all in a book. Greg Behrendt (who briefly worked as a writer on S&TC) and Liz Tuccillo gave us He's Just Not That Into You, a book that would act as a guide to women about men and dating. The book is divided into chapters and set out in a Q&A format and every dating scenario that you could imagine is covered. Here are a few:
1. He is afraid to get hurt 2. He does not want to ruin the friendship 3. Maybe he is intimidated by me 4. He did not call because he lost his phone, got run over, was caught in a tropical rain forest etc....
The answer is the same - He is just not that into you!
This book was published in 2004 and became a New York Times Bestseller and was featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show.
So like all successful books, Hollywood just had to turn it into a movie and with such a catchy title how could it not be. The culprit this time is Drew Barrymore who has bought the rights to the film. As well as starring in it she has a stellar cast of Jennifer Aniston, Ginnifer Goodwin, Scarlet Johansson, Jennifer Connelly and Ben Affleck. The film focuses on four couples in their twenties and thirties where one partner is more into the other person. I am sure I am not the only one who will admit that the book really did strike a cord with me and it really gives you an insight into the way men behave. The film trailer looks hilarious and had me in stitches and I can definitely say it is on my 'got to see' list.
He's Just Not That Into You is released in February 2009.
The Musings of Ondo Lady is a slice of pop culture in the form of films, magazines, books, TV, fashion and music.
My name is Ronke Adeyemi and I am a creative with a background in journalism, marketing and PR. I have a passion for fashion, travel, magazines, books and property. What's the deal with Ondo Lady? Well Ondo is a town in Nigeria where my parents are from. It is located in the south west of Nigeria and holds just over 4 million people and is nicknamed the Sunshine State.
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