Veteran director Garry Marshall explores the theme of romance on the one day of the year dedicated to it
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The neighbourhood is connected by a network of quaint little footbridges. On one such bridge, actors Ashton Kutcher and George Lopez stand in the crisp sunlight, deep in conversation, as a fishing pole dangles a line in the water.
While the conversation seems very personal, the two are surrounded by lights, cameras and myriad crew members going about their production duties. The movie being shot is the new romantic comedy Valentine’s Day and the topic at hand is love.
Directed by Hollywood veteran Garry Marshall, Valentine’s Day explores love in all its facets on the one day a year dedicated to the art of expressing it.
“The film follows seven intertwining love stories that take place during the course of one day in Los Angeles,” said Marshall. “Some characters fall in love, some do not find love, but they try.
There are so many emotions that happen on this day – love, sadness, excitement, depression, longing.”
Marshall has a long history in this town and an extended family that encompasses Hollywood royalty and the newest generation alike. Beloved by many, his name alone was often all it took to enlist some of the acclaimed and popular actors in the film’s huge ensemble cast.
They include Jessica Alba, Jennifer Garner, Anne Hathaway, Ashton Kutcher, Taylor Lautner, Emma Roberts, Julia Roberts and singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, in her feature film debut.
Marshall directed two of the film’s stars – Julia Roberts and Anne Hathaway – in their breakout hits Pretty Woman and The Princess Diaries, respectively, and also reunites with Hector Elizondo, who has been in all of Marshall’s feature films to date.
“It’s really exciting to be with this cast, many of whom I know,” says Marshall. “It’s nice to go to work every morning and there’s somebody that you’ve worked with before and know well.
“My cinematographer, Chuck Minsky, was my cinematographer on Pretty Woman, so we have a history. Julia Roberts was nice enough to come back and do a part.
“I’m working with Julia and her niece Emma Roberts, who just turned 18. Julia plays a soldier in the army. Emma is a studious teen who is planning something special with her boyfriend (Carter Jenkins) on Valentine’s Day. The movie is segmented; it’s seven love stories”
The stories interlock and intertwine over the course of Valentine’s Day, starting with Kutcher’s character, Reed, whose flower shop and café, Siena Boutique, becomes a nexus of sorts on its busiest day of the year.
Alba plays his girlfriend, Morley; Lopez plays his friend and employee Alphonso; Garner is his best friend Julia, who is dating Harrison, a doctor played by Patrick Dempsey.
Young actor Bryce Robinson plays Edison, a student of Julia’s, who is intent on sending a particular and crucial Valentine to his first crush.
Edison’s nanny, Grace, is played by Emma Roberts, with Shirley MacLaine and Hector Elizondo as his grandparents, Estelle and Edgar, with whom he lives.
Taylor Swift and Taylor Lautner play Felicia and Tyler, who go to high school with Grace, and Carter Jenkins plays Grace’s boyfriend, Alex, whose Valentine’s Day plans keep getting thwarted.
Another nexus of activity is a talent agency where Queen Latifah is a top agent named Paula, and Anne Hathaway is her temporary assistant. Liz is dating Josh, played by Topher Grace, who works in the mail room.
Eric Dane plays a conflicted football star and top client of Erin’s, whose publicist, Kara, played by Jessica Biel, hates Valentine’s Day.
She is friends with sports reporter Kelvin, played by Jamie Foxx, who is handed the unwanted assignment of covering the day’s activities as a human interest story by his boss, Susan, played by Kathy Bates.
The final tale unfolds on an airplane, with Army Captain Kate, played by Julia Roberts, sharing a row on the plane with Holden, played by Bradley Cooper, while both are on the way to LAX.
As luck would have it, in gathering together the star-studded cast to fill the 19 primary roles in the film, the first to sign on was Roberts.
“The first person who said: ‘Yes, I’m doing it,’ was Julia Roberts, which is a good person to get first,” the director laughs. “After that, many people who were not sure were sure suddenly. They all came around.”
The first thing on Marshall’s mind was chemistry among the cast as the film explores many different facets of relationships – from first love to heartbreak to lifelong commitment.
Some members of the cast were a natural fit, but others came as a surprise to the director. “Taylor Swift came in to do a scene. She wasn’t available to do the film but wanted to do something in it. So, she was a guest.
“We wrote a scene. And I gotta say, I never saw her act before. I’ve seen her sing and jump around, but she did a scene. She was sensational.”
Valentine’s Day is shot entirely in and around Los Angeles. “Los Angeles is a real melting pot of different cultures and this brings lots of romantic entanglements,” says Marshall, noting that in the end, Valentine’s Day is about connecting, for a moment, for the first time or a lifetime.
“In the middle of anything, love occurs. We allude to all sorts of love, from a nine-year-old’s first love to arranged marriages to email and the Internet to a couple who’s been married 50 years.
“There is hope in this movie. If it doesn’t work out for you on Valentine’s Day, maybe in the future. But make a note – in this movie, nobody dies,” Marshall adds with a wry smile. – Warner Bros
For an overview of Valentine's Day (2010), click here.
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