With a tremendous cast, and Garry Marshall's direction, Valentine's Day works.  This is a feel-good movie that should appeal to most people.  Whether you love Valentine's Day or you absolutely detest it, some part of this movie will touch you.

Why?  Because this movie is all about people.  Lots of people, all having different experiences on Valentine's Day.  There are a bunch of interconnected stories; some work better than others, but taken together, this is really a terrific movie.

I'm not going to attempt to tell you a whole lot about the various plots.  I'll just give you a few very brief glimpses so you'll get the general idea.  Ashton Kutcher starts the holiday off by proposing to Jessica Alba.  Jennifer Garner's really happy... She's got a gorgeous boyfriend (Patrick Dempsey), but we soon find out he isn't being entirely honest with her.  Jessica Biel and Jamie Foxx hate Valentine's Day, and decide to hate it, together.  Bradley Cooper and Julia Roberts meet on a flight to L.A., both with holiday agendas of their own.  Topher Grace and Anne Hathaway have been dating, but she's keeping a major secret from him. And, there's Eric Dane, a football player alone this V-Day for his own reasons.   

Those are the adults.  But this holiday is for kids, too.  Young Edison lives with his grandparents, and wants to share his special Valentine's Day with the love of his life.  Not easy to do, when you're just a little kid, but he's quite determined.  And teenagers aren't left out, either.  Taylor Lautner, Taylor Swift, Emma Roberts, and Carter Jenkins have holiday goings-on, too.

Phew! That's a lot going on in one movie. And I didn't even cover all of the stories, or all of the big names who have roles.  Like Kathy Bates, Shirley MacLaine, Hector Alizondo, George Lopez and Queen Latifah.

I have to say that with so many stories, this movie doesn't get boring for a minute.  But, as might be expected, some of the stories are a bit weaker than others.  Of course, viewers would probably disagree on which stories worked.  I could have skipped Taylor Swift's story completely.  It didn't send any kind of message at all, as opposed to most of the other stories where there was either a sweet moral, or an interesting "surprise".  Swift's story just didn't add a whole lot - it would seem she was included more as a vehicle to show off her singing (she's heard quite a bit, in the background soundtrack).

I also could have skipped Jessica Biel's story.  Mostly because she's miscast.  I simply didn't buy her as an unlucky-in-love anti-Valentine's Day stick-in-the-mud. 

Most of the other stories are charming, and each is completely different.  Hard to believe there can be so many different viewpoints about one holiday!  Of course, with this many characters, they won't be "deep".  But, overall, a fun holiday movie.  Chick flick?  Probably.  But with so many stories, I'd bet some guys'll like it, too.

Recommended: Yes