In a series of interconnected stories, various Los Angeles residents wind their way through the highs and lows of love during a single day. As the holiday unfolds, they experience first dates, longtime commitments, youthful crushes and connections to old flames. “Valentine’s Day” is chalk full of various actors with different stories. Patrick Dempsy: the dream, “too good to be true doctor.” Ashton Kutcher: the good guy who believes in love way too much. And Jamie Fox: the notorious Casanova who does not think love exists.
It seems with each new scene a new actor is introduced and a new story is being told. Julia Roberts is the big “get” here, but there’s also Anne Hathaway, Jennifer Garner, Jamie Foxx, Shirley MacLaine, the Jessicas Biel and Alba, and the doctors McDreamy (Patrick Dempsey) and McSteamy (Eric Dane).
That’s not a cast; it’s a zip code.
Unfortunately, this overstuffed movie does not take time to really focus on any of them. It’s a kind of “He’s Just Not That Into You, and You, and You and Especially Not You,” with plot twists piling up like six-car collisions.
With a few giggles thrown into the mix–not much, but some–and a couple heartwarming scenes, “Valentine’s Day” is hardly worth the cost of driving to a theater, paying $7.25, wasting a couple hours, then driving back. It’s not that the movie is completely awful, it’s just that it’s not worth it. Wait until it comes on your TV; don’t rush out to see it. Otherwise you will probably will be disappointed. I know I was.