Wednesday 14 February 2018

Valentine's Day (2010 Gary Marshall)

The first and best of Marshall's Day films is nothing extraordinary but is a fun watch, with many intersecting stories centring around bouncy Ashton Kutcher's ultra-nice florist, where he works alongside friends George Lopez (philosophy reading*) and Jennifer Garner, who's in a relationship with Patrick Dempsey. A kid (Bryce Robinson) demands a bouquet for his girlfriend, his grand-parents are Hector Elizondo and Shirley Maclaine (who we see watching her 1958 film Hot Spell - looks like one of those heavy fifties dramas) and whose babysitter is Emma Roberts, trying to have sex for the first time with Taylor Lautner...


Yes. It's beginning to sound about like it was derived from the Love Actually template. Various other characters include Anne Hathaway, Jessica Alba, Bradley Cooper, Julia Roberts (who provides the film's closing in-joke), Taylor Swift, Jessica Biel, Jamie Foxx, Eric Dane, Queen Latifah, Kathy Bates.. perhaps there are one or two characters too many. I can't say anything really that romantic happens, but if the moral is get together with your best friend - I couldn't agree more.

Those reading the small print will see Paul Williams (Phantom of the Paradise) is the night DJ and there was some 'additional editing' by Kevin Tent.

* The book is 'The Essential Rumi' by Jalal al-Din Rumi which Blackwells describes as 'A collection of poetry by the thirteenth century Sufi saint cover topics ranging from emptiness and silence to elegance and majesty.' Though I think it's a kind of lip-service to inclusivity, really. Film written by Katherine Fugate.

It was Q's Valentine's Day suggestion. That day in 2009 she came up with the interesting trilogy of Roman Holiday, Brief Encounter and The Graduate!

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