Taglines: It comes every year whether you like it or not.
More than a dozen Angelenos navigate Valentine’s Day from early morning until midnight. Three couples awake together, but each relationship will sputter; are any worth saving? A grade-school boy wants flowers for his first true love; two high school seniors plan first-time sex at noon; a TV sports reporter gets the assignment to find romance in LA; a star quarterback contemplates his future; two strangers meet on a plane; grandparents, together for years, face a crisis; and, an “I Hate Valentine’s Day” dinner beckons the lonely and the lied to. Can Cupid finish his work by midnight?
Valentine’s Day is a 2010 American romantic comedy film directed by Garry Marshall. The screenplay and the story were written by Katherine Fugate, Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein. The film consists of an ensemble cast led by Jessica Alba, Kathy Bates, Jessica Biel, Bradley Cooper, Eric Dane, Patrick Dempsey, Héctor Elizondo, Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner, Topher Grace, Anne Hathaway, Ashton Kutcher, Queen Latifah, Taylor Lautner, George Lopez, Shirley MacLaine, Emma Roberts, Julia Roberts, Carter Jenkins, and Taylor Swift in her film debut. While the film received negative reviews, it was a major box office success.
The film debuted with $52.4 million its opening weekend, grabbing the number 1 spot over the holiday that shares its name. The film ousted two other high-profile openings; 20th Century Fox’s action fantasy Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, which debuted at number 2 with $31.1 million over three days, and Universal’s werewolf film The Wolfman, with $30.6 million.
It is currently the third-highest opening weekend in February, and the second highest-grossing President’s Day weekend film. On Monday, February 15, 2010, Valentine’s Day went down to #2 behind Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, but then went back up #1 on Tuesday. On Friday, February 19, it went down to #2 behind Shutter Island then to #3 the next day. By Friday, February 26, it went down to #5 behind Shutter Island, The Crazies, Cop Out and Avatar. By March 18, it went down to #14.
It stayed in theaters until May 6, 2010.[7] With that record, it is the second biggest opening for a romantic comedy film behind Sex and the City with $57 million. The passing of the Valentine’s Day holiday later had the film’s box office results quickly declining with a total of $110 million in the United States and Canada as well as an additional $106 million overseas for a grand total of $216 million worldwide.
About the Production
If you are happily in love, Valentine’s Day is a day of hearts and flowers, romance and sentiment. If you are among those who are unlucky in love, it is just another day.
Director Garry Marshall, who has successfully captured the many facets of love in some of the screen’s biggest romantic comedy hits, offers, “Some people think Valentine’s Day is the best thing and others try to block it out. It means different things to different people. The other holidays are all clearer,” he adds with his trademark deadpan delivery, noting, “Christmas, we decorate a tree, you give me a present, we sing nice songs, go home, go to bed. New Year’s Eve, you drink, you kiss at 12 o’clock, sing Auld Lang Syne and cry, go home, go to bed. That’s simple. Got it. Arbor Day…not the biggest holiday, but getting bigger because we’re all ‘going green.’ But Valentine’s Day is vague. It’s a hard holiday to define because love is so hard to define and that’s why it makes for a good story. Why not do a romantic comedy about the day we’re all concentrated on romance, and that’s ‘Valentine’s Day.’”
Seen through the eyes of a multigenerational cast of characters, “Valentine’s Day” threads its way through a variety of relationships—from first dates to longtime commitments, from young crushes to old flames, and from perpetual singles to unrequited loves. To tell the interconnecting stories, the film brings together one of the largest all-star ensembles ever assembled in one film.
Seen through the eyes of a multigenerational cast of characters, “Valentine’s Day” threads its way through a variety of relationships—from first dates to longtime commitments, from young crushes to old flames, and from perpetual singles to unrequited loves. To tell the interconnecting stories, the film brings together one of the largest all-star ensembles ever assembled in one film, including three Garry Marshall veterans, Julia Roberts, Anne Hathaway and Hector Elizondo, as well as Jessica Alba, Kathy Bates, Jessica Biel, Bradley Cooper, Eric Dane, Patrick Dempsey, Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner, Topher Grace, Ashton Kutcher, Queen Latifah, Taylor Lautner, George Lopez, Shirley MacLaine, Emma Roberts, and Taylor Swift.
Producer Mike Karz remarks, “We felt very fortunate to have such an extraordinary cast. But the fact that we were able to have this level of actors in the film is really a tribute to Garry Marshall and his reputation and skill. He is such a great leader and a brilliant comedian, which has been proven over and over again for decades. He is a genuinely funny guy who just knows how to deliver a joke. But, more importantly, he knows how to deliver a story.”
“In order for any film to get made, the planets have to align,” producer Wayne Rice adds. “Certainly a lot of planets aligned for us to make this movie with such a remarkable roster of talent.”
Julia Roberts and Anne Hathaway both count “Valentine’s Day” as their third collaboration with Marshall, including their breakthrough roles in “Pretty Woman” and “The Princess Diaries,” respectively. They agree that there are many reasons actors relish working with the famed director. “I’ve gotten to work on some wonderful films, but there’s nothing like a Garry Marshall movie,” says Hathaway. “He’s generous and sensitive and fun, and he’s a director you can trust. He’s a passionate filmmaker; he’s invested in every take and he works with you to craft a beautiful performance.” Roberts observes, “All Garry wants to do is tell a great story and make people laugh, and he’s masterful at it.”
The chance to work with the director was also a major attraction for the actors teaming with him for the first time. “Garry Marshall is a craftsman, and the opportunity to work with someone who can elevate your game and you can learn from—you don’t pass those opportunities up,” states Ashton Kutcher.
Chart-topping recording artist Taylor Swift, who makes her film acting debut in “Valentine’s Day,” says, “It’s amazing to be a part of something with so many names I’ve admired, but my favorite name has to be Garry Marshall. I was so excited to get to work with him. He’s charming and funny, and he obviously knows how to make a great movie. And he took the time and effort to incorporate our mutual lucky number—13— into every single one of my scenes, which was awesome. I’ll never forget that.”
In fact, when asked what attracted them to the project, all the actors had one answer in common: Garry Marshall. However, before any of the cast was in place, what first drew Marshall to the film was the original screenplay, written by Katherine Fugate. He recalls, “Mike Karz and Wayne Rice told me they had a movie they wanted to make with me. They said, ‘It’s a love story; you do those things.’ I read the script and liked it and said, ‘Let’s go.’”
Fugate says that she created the interwoven stories in the screenplay “to show how love was approached from different angles and different generations—from the unjaded 10-year-old boy with his first crush, to the thirtysomethings dealing with their relationship, or lack thereof, all the way to the older married couple looking back at the journey of love they have taken together. Love also takes on many different faces that go beyond romance, but at the end of the day, love always brings us back to what is most important in life.”
Screenwriting partners Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein, who recently demonstrated their knack for ensemble comedy with the hit “He’s Just Not That Into You,” helped develop the story. “When we met with Garry and the producers, we were all interested in having the film cover a lot of perspectives, especially in capturing the different feelings people have about this holiday,” says Silverstein.
Continue Reading and View the Theatrical Trailer
Valentine’s Day (2010)
Directed by: Garry Marshall
Starring: Jessica Alba, Kathy Bates, Jessica Biel, Bradley Cooper, Eric Dane, Patrick Dempsey, Hector Elizondo, Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner, Anne Hathaway, Ashton Kutcher, Queen Latifah, George Lopez, Shirley MacLaine, Emma Roberts, Julia Roberts
Screenplay by: Katherine Fugat
Production Design by: Albert Brenner
Cinematography by: Charles Minsky
Film Editing by: Bruce Green
Costume Design by: Gary Jones
Set Decoration by: K.C. Fox
Art Direction by: Adrian Gorton
Music by: John Debney
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for Some sexual material and brief partial nudity.
Distributed by: New Line Cinema
Release Date: February 12, 2010
