Valentine's Day

I am beginning a second blog so I can be a winner and the only other thing I can think to blog about besides New Hope is movies. As most of you know, I love movies. I don't go as often as I use to partly because I just don't have time but mostly because there just aren't that many good movies any more. But here goes anyway.

I made Randy take me to see Valentine's Day yesterday. He actually liked it. I did too. We ran into John and Lauren. They were leaving as we were arriving. Lauren had a big smile on her face and said she really liked it. John said it was silly. But in an e-mail today he said it was better than what the critics said. John was asking how our Valentine's Day was going and we asked about theirs. As part of Lauren's gift he couldn't say "no" all day long. I wonder if he made it through the day?

OK, about the movie. It was similar to "Love Actually" but not nearly as good; also similar to "Crash" in that there were a lot of vinettes and all were tied together in some way or another. But again, not profound and not nearly as good. I thought it was a fun movie to watch and I enjoyed seeing all of the actors. Not much character development but that was ok.

The movie depicted young love that wasn't very realistic in today's world. More realistic for when I was in highschool. Two girls who were seniors in highschool decided they weren't ready to have sex with their boyfriends whom they adored and the boys seemed to be happy to go along with it. Refreshing but not very realistic.

It also depicted love between an older couple and that was probably the most serious part of the movie. She revealed to him an affair she had had with his business partner years earlier. He had a difficult time forgiving her but in the end (and this was the best line in the movie) he said he realized he had to love and accept the whole person, not just the good parts.

I liked the movie for another reason. It covered all of the bases from a young boy's love for his teacher, to gay love, to love of a mother for her son. And although there were Hispanics, blacks, whites, East Indians, etc. any character could have played any of the parts. There were no stereo-types with one possible exception. Taylor Swift played a very ditsy highschool girl but she was cute.

Four ways I rate movies is 1) Is it profound in some way? (This one, not a chance;) 2) Did it make me cry? (actually yes); 3) is there a quote I can take away to use at a later time ("you have to love the whole person, not just the good stuff); 4) Is there a theological message I can preach on? (Unconditional love and acceptance.) So was it one of my top ten favorites for all times? Not even close. But if you want a feel good movie that you don't have to think too much about, this might just work. I'd give it a B-.

For future reference, a great sound track, breath-taking scenery, a unique plot or creative photography can make a fair movie great for example Dances with Wolves, Great Expectations, and of course, Groundhog's Day.

Judy