For a lot of people, Valentine’s Day really is just a Hallmark holiday.
It’s a reason to buy your significant others a card, or candy or take them on a date. Said date might include a movie if the holiday falls on a weekend, which is the case this year. And fortunately for couples who are film lovers, there are a handful of love features for this February.
Already in theaters is Jason Reitman’s adaptation of Joyce Maynard’s saccharine novel Labor Day, with Josh Brolin and Kate Winslet. Although more of a thriller than a straight romance, the film seems to be popular with the middle-aged moviegoers who grew up with a generation of tear-jerkers such as “Love Story” (1970) and “The Way We Were” (1973). But “Labor Day” may not be the film for younger audiences, and those who are older might stick with the old standbys for a true love drama.
There are a few movies being released this Valentine’s Day. One is about a tragic romance, though this time with a bit of sci-fi fantasy, called “Winter’s Tale” with Colin Farrell, Jessica Brown-Findlay, Jennifer Connelly and Russell Crowe. The theme of a time-traveled protagonist on the run from the film’s villain rings familiar to Nicholas Meyer’s “Time After Time” (1979). In “Winter’s Tale,” however, the romance is more prominent than the adventure. Akiva Goldsman’s screen version of Mark Helprin’s book would seem aimed toward fans of “Time After Time” or Jeannot Szwarc’s “Somewhere in Time” (1980).
Two remakes of popular romantic flicks from the 1980s also will be released this weekend: “Endless Love” and “About Last Night.” The former is Shana Feste’s new rendition of Franco Zeffirelli’s original 1981 celluloid soap; and the latter swaps Rob Lowe, Demi Moore, Jim Belushi and Elizabeth Perkins in 1986 for Kevin Hart, Joy Bryant, Michael Ealy and Regina Hall in 2014.
“Endless Love” is already pretty corny in its original edition with Martin Hewitt and Brooke Shields, but like most remakes, young Brits Alex Pettyfer and Gabriella Wilde are brought in to attract teen viewers.
Of course, movie nights don’t need to be at the theaters every time. There are plenty of romance essentials that can be appropriate right at home for V-Day, too.
From old Hollywood there are the classics such as Victor Fleming’s “Gone with the Wind” (1939), Michael Cortez’s “Casablanca” (1942) and Blake Edwards’ “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” (1961), to new Hollywood with Peter Bogdanovich’s “What’s Up, Doc?” (1972), John Hughes’ “Pretty in Pink” (1986) and Nora Ephron’s “Sleepless in Seattle” (1993). For more recent love themes, Nancy Meyers’ “Something’s Gotta Give” (2003) is a popular one with the older crowd, while Glenn Ficarra and John Requa’s “Crazy, Stupid, Love” (2011) is enjoyed by audiences of all ages.
So whether it’s at the local movie theater or on your own big screen, there’s a little romance for everyone this Valentine’s Day.
mbianco@durangoherald.com. Megan Bianco is a movie reviewer and also contributes other entertainment-related features and articles. She is a graduate of Cal State University, Northridge, where she studied film criticism and screenwriting.
