Story
Valentine’s Day follows the intertwining lives of a group of friends and some strangers as they go about preparing for, enjoying and enduring Valentine’s Day.
Reed Bennett (Ashton Kucher) begins the morning by proposing to his girlfriend, Morley Clarkson (Jessica Alba). Meanwhile Reed’s best friend, Julia Fitzpatrick (Jennifer Garner), is falling for married heart surgeon Dr Harrison Copeland (Patrick Dempsey). Julia’s friend Kara Monahan (Jessica Biel) is planning an ‘I hate Valentine’s Day’ party because she feels she is the only person on the planet who always spends the day alone.
Kara’s main client, sports star Sean Jackson (Eric Dane), comes ‘out of the closet’ during a press conference that she organises. Kelvin Moore (Jamie Foxx) moves around the city interviewing strangers about their thoughts on love and Valentine’s Day. He interviews Willy (Taylor Lautner) and Felicia (Taylor Swift), a very hands-on, affectionate, high school couple. Felicia’s friend Grace (Emma Roberts) and her boyfriend, Alex (Carter Jenkins), are planning to have sex for the first time on Valentine’s Day. Meanwhile Jason (Topher Grace) learns to appreciate and understand his new girlfriend, Liz (Anne Hathaway), who moonlights from her office job as a phone sex worker.
A young boy, Edison (Bryce Robison), links many of these stories as he struggles to understand the meaning of love and the nature of Valentine’s Day. He has to come to terms with the fact that his mother (Julia Roberts) isn’t there to share the holiday with him.
Themes
Relationship breakdown; teenage sex; children separated from parents; adultery
Violence
This movie contains some violence. For example:
Sexual references
This movie contains some sexual references. For example:
- Liz gets many calls from a range of men wanting different types of phone sex. She tries to satisfy them, even when she’s at work, in the office or on a date.
- Liz talks about having a threesome.
- Liz’s boss gets one of her phone calls. She says that she has a guy on the line who wants to be covered in Vaseline and bubble wrap.
- Grace talks candidly with people about her plans to have sex with her boyfriend for the first time.
- Esther tells her husband that she once had an affair with his business partner.
- Sean admits that he is gay during a press conference.
- Kara talks about her relationship with her Blackberry and says, ‘Thank God it vibrates’.
- Liz tells one guy over the phone that she is going to lick him all up and down with her ‘scratchy kitty-cat tongue’.
- During a telecast in relation to Sean Jackson, Kelvin says, ‘I stand behind you. Metaphorically speaking’.
- Liz’s boss gets a call from ‘Vladimir’. She decides to handle the call herself, telling him he gets to have phone sex with an African queen.
- People are encouraged to ‘make love to your boyfriends on Valentine’s Day’.
- A telecast ends with the words, ‘Let’s get naked!’
Alcohol, drugs and other substances
This movie contains some use of substances. For example:
- Many characters talks about drinking alcohol. They say things like, ‘Lead me to the alcohol’, and ‘Give me a bottle’.
- Jake and another man share a drink from a hip flask.
- A drunk man sleeps in a car.
- People drink at restaurants.
Nudity and sexual activity
This movie contains some nudity and sexual activity. For example:
- Many couples are shown in bed as they awake to face the day. Some straddle one another (displaying lots of thigh), some kiss, and some race around grabbing stray articles of clothing that have been flung around the room.
- Julia’s bottom is shown as she walks to the bathroom wearing a g-string and a shirt.
- Sean steps out of the shower wearing nothing but a towel.
- Grace and Alex plan to have sex together for the first time on Valentine’s Day. Many of their friends are aware of this. One guy shouts out, ‘All us virgins are pulling for you’.
- Alex heads to Grace’s house to prepare her room. He is standing naked playing a guitar and singing a song he has composed for Grace when her mother walks into the room.
- Willy and Felicia are all over each other, kissing, hugging and touching.
Product placement
None of concern
Coarse language
This movie contains some coarse language.
Ideas to discuss with your children
Valentine’s Day is a romantic comedy featuring an all-star cast. It is a light-hearted film that is likely to be enjoyed by older teenagers. It might also attract younger children, however, because its cast includes Taylor Swift and Taylor Lautner.
The main message from this movie is that true love does exist, sometimes where you least expect to find it.
Values in this movie that you could reinforce with your children include compassion for others, forgiveness, responsibility and trust in your own heart.
This movie could also give you the chance to talk with your children about real-life issues such as:
- planning to have sex with your boyfriend or girlfriend for insignificant or inappropriate reasons
- going out on your own at night and getting into someone’s van without really knowing the person.