Funny Valentine

The story is lame. The acting is terrible. It's one of those films that opens poorly and you sit and think that it just has to get better. Don't hold your breath. If someone forces you into a room to watch this film, run...do not walk...to the nearest exit. The film contains a string of unrelated cheesy shots of many women who I am sure are very beautiful in real life. But the photographer seems to have gone out of his way to make them appear ghastly. The marketing for this film promises a chick-flick for Valentines Day. What the director delivers is a poorly written concept about a guy who is tempted to take advice from his friends about finding a girl. He should have spent some time finding better friends first. These are people you do not want to visit. This is not "Sleepless in Seattle". It is more like "Brain-Dead in the Big City".

I recently viewed this romantic comedy some years ago and just recently purchased it online to view again with my husband. He normally is not a big fan of romantic comedies, but enjoyed this one more than most. The beginning of the the story line starts off a little slow and at first seems to being going nowhere. It quickly picks up and becomes apparent that it was all necessary in developing the characters. You can not help but fall in love with the main characters who are perfectly cast in their roles. Their chemistry is terrific and the story line genuine. Anyone who has ever been in love will relate to the range of emotions that accompany a true love, all of which are portrayed in this story. This comedy will have you laughing, crying and wanting more.

Well, I'm not cinema professional, so I have no right to judge how actor plays, how camera works and so on. But in general this movie made me feel positive (what happens not so often). Of course, this movie is quite simple, but it contains positive example of communication between man and woman, small pickup lesson and interesting behavior patterns (there are some things to model, in terms of NLP). For me it is interesting to see how people can behave to be interesting, so if you're looking for the girl of your dream, this movie is good to tune up yourself for successful and positive communication with woman. And it is also pleasant to see (for guys like me) how guy from 'lover league' have success with girl from 'upper league'. For me, this move contains more positive charge, than many high-rated movies. Moreover, I like soundtrack.

This is quite a hidden little gem of a romance, and one you should try to discover.

The story revolves around Street Performer, Magician and part-time Book store worker, Josh (Anthony Michael Hall) and his two more worldly wise (??) friends Tim and Sean. Josh is looking for love where as his two friends are looking for lust (with varying degrees of success and quality).

The story is gentle and more than a little believable (if you overlook the usual "Friends" faux pas that a lowly worker/performer can live in a nice large apartment without starving to pay the rent and in this case dine out regularly). The stand point of both Josh and Doreen (the love interest) will ring true with most singles the world over along with their insecurities and anxieties. The romance is slow but sweet without being cloying.

The second plot line, the two friends helping to find love for Josh in the Lonely Hearts Ads is a little hit and miss, although the "Interview" sequence to find their top three is quite funny.

The look of the clothes and the scenery gives the 80's impression which is hard to shake off. That and the carefree attitude to random sex seem out of place in a 21st century film but if you let your imagination take you back to the days of Dynasty and Robert Palmer videos you can excuse this.

This is a good solid cast, the four main actors more than hold their own and provide a little escapism for 90 minutes or so. More believable than Pretty Woman for those of us still paddling in the singles pool.

Josh (Anthony Michael Hall) is a single gentleman looking for the right gal. Alas, he has trouble approaching women in bars and other typical meet-up places. Therefore, his "swinger" pals Sean and Tim try to give him advice on the different kinds of women out there and how to secure a date. They even create a profile for him on a dating site and insist they will pick the three finalists for Josh to review. However, as a shy magician, mime and book seller, Josh meets a beautiful woman, Doreen (Marlo Marron) when he performs at a child's birthday party and likes what he sees. But, once he is out of his mime make-up, will she look his way? Or, as Sean and Tim insist, is she way out of his league? For her part, Doreen is a working single mother and graduate student who truly doesn't want to give her heart to another jerk. Is this really a match made by Cupid's sure arrow? This is a sweet romcom, for the most part, but there are some rather risque scenes involving the two "love em and leave em" friends of the main star, Hall. Therefore, Doris Day lovers may not like it. But, the scenes involving Hall and Marron are sweet and touching. Especially nice are the movies Hall imagines in his mind, with him starring as Chaplin and Bogart, and Marron as his leading lady. Also darling is Marron's son. The movie does not have any spectacular scenery, costumes, lines, or direction but, even so, romantic comedy fans will be glad they chose it. If that's you, add it to the list.