Review of I Hate Valentine's Day (2009) by Branka ? — 22 Apr 2010

Romantic Comedies are a dime a dozen, so when they don't stand out as original it's easy to tell right away. I Hate Valentine's Day definitely doesn't break the mold in the rom-com genre.

Nia Vardalos wrote and directed this film, which paired her with past co-star, John Corbett. Vardalos plays Genevieve, a florist who has a very specific rule about dating. She has convinced herself that relationships don't work and that a five date maximum is what works best.

She believes that the five date limit allows for the absence of expectations and that pain can be avoided when the people ultimately choose to go their own ways. Genevieve also prides herself on being a permanently happy person who dishes out relationship advice to her friends.

Never expecting to deviate from her five date rule, Genevieve meets Greg (Corbett), a new business owner who is looking to buy flowers for his then-girlfriend. After some time, the two cross paths again and Genevieve learns that Greg is now single. While he is explaining what caused him to become a bachelor again, she interrupts by telling him about her dating plan. He finds her and her ideas to be intriguing and they begin to date.

Always aware of the timeline, the couple decides to spread their dates out over a few months as opposed to a few weeks. This causes their feelings to grow deeper and when it comes close to the dating deadline, a miscommunication threatens to end their fun.

The supporting cast, which included Rachel Dratch (Saturday Night Live), Zoe Kazan (It's Complicated) and an unrecognizable Judah Friedlander (30 Rock), didn't add anything to the story. They were just fillers to the "A" story in my opinion. I wanted to like the coupling in this film, as I was a fan of the two in My Big Fat Greek Wedding, but something was just off. Vardalos' real-life husband, Cougar Town's Ian Gomez, was a surprise treat in a small role though.

I think Vardalos is a pleasant actress to watch onscreen, but this film felt forced. Every scene was predictable and I wasn't rooting for her character as much as I have in her past roles. Corbett always adds a little something extra to the characters he plays. He's extremely likable and just has a positive presence onscreen.

I can usually take any rom-com and find it somewhat enjoyable, but there were very few moments of that emotion for me in this particular film. Don't bother with this flick, but if you want another dose of Vardalos/Corbett, just go watch "...Greek Wedding" again.