THE film Valentine's Day is a barely disguised attempt to remake the successful British date flick Love Actually in an American setting.
A flower shop acts as the hub of nine intertwined love stories that run the gamut of ages and mix of love scenarios: spousal, maternal, puppy, straight, gay, faithful and adulterous.
This movie might have too many TV, screen and recording stars because it gets distracting to constantly think, ``Where have I seen them before?''
This list of featured actors might settle a few bets: Julia Roberts (Pretty Woman), Jessica Alba (Sin City), Anne Hathaway (The Devil Wears Prada), Ashton Kutcher and Topher Grace (That 70s Show), Taylor Lautner (Twilight), Bradley Cooper (He's Just Not That into You), Patrick Dempsey and Eric Dane (Grey's Anatomy) Jamie Foxx (Miami Vice), and recording artists Queen Latifah and Taylor Swift.
Just when you think the movie is nothing more than a slightly less grubby teen sex flick inhabited by a few adults, veterans Shirley MacLaine and Hector Elizondo perform a piece of movie magic that should bring audiences to their feet applauding in the stalls.
This scene filmed in Hollywood's Forever Cemetery, the final resting place of many screen legends, features a clever lip-sink with a 1958 movie Hot Spell that starred a much younger MacLaine.
This decent piece of art justified paying for a ticket to see this otherwise DVD-quality flick in a cinema.
Other highlights include the gigantic get square restaurant scene and Julia Roberts' witty one-liner during the out-takes referencing a scene she played in Pretty Woman.
While Valentine's Day doesn't reach the standard of Love Actually, it is still a funny, easy-to-watch and appealing movie.