So, here’s the deal. I went to see Valentines Day with my roommate this past Friday night. The critics have been slamming it, it’s been getting trashed everywhere, and the only people who really seem to like it from all that I’ve read are the famed Twilight Moms who consider New Moon Oscar-worthy and drool at the very thought of Taylor Lautner. But one must remember, the critics loved Closer (talk about awkward situations; if you’re going to film sexually-charged situations, leave the uber-seriousness and grotesquely filthy dialogue out and rub in some comedy, ok?!). On the flip side of all this, I liked the film.

Sure, it’s no Love Actually, with its cast of about twenty well-known stars, but it wasn’t trying to be. Any movie that is released Valentines Day weekend can’t trump the holiday, and this film did not set out to do that. The purpose, if you must ask, was simply to be entertaining. I wouldn’t go see it in theaters again, but I may rent it for a giggle or a girls night. It’s a simple movie, with fairly simple, clichéd characters from various walks of life.

There were really only two things that bothered me about this film. First, all the characters in the film were somehow connected to one another. A cool concept, but the scenes flashed from one character to the next so quickly, I often found myself thinking, “OK, so this person knows this one that way, and that one….I think they just met, and that one does this for another one…” It was a little confusing, to say the least. Second, the demographic issue. Yes, there are a lot of different people and different issues in the US, but do they really have to be jammed into one film? I appreciated Grey’s Anatomy star McSteamy (Eric Dane) as the macho football player who came out of the closet on-air once let go from his team, but was the “I’m behind you, metaphorically” joke really necessary?! It’s been done far too many times, and is getting quite old. Also, the whole rich-girl-poor-boyfriend cliché of Ashton Kutcher and Jesica Alba? Yeah, I’ve seen that one before, too.

There were many parts of the movie that were surprising, and I liked that. It definitely kept me on my toes, which a lot of so-called chick flicks fail to do any more. The polite but very honest babysitter *ahem* nanny (Julia Roberts’ niece, Emma Roberts) was quite refreshing as a character. It was cute, heartwarming, blunt, clichéd, and surprising. And I recommend it. It’s worth the cost of the ticket, no more, and a good date-night movie if you’re looking for an uncomplicated film that induces easy laughter. I’ll leave it at that. I went into the film expecting not much more than I’ve written here, and was pleasantly surprised. I won’t ruin it for you, like most critics who seek to tear a film apart for their readers, but leave you with this. Those three words that “everyone” wants to hear at the end of Valentines Day: they’re damn hilarious but not for everyone.