NYT Defense: Manohla Dargis' Review of "Valentine's Day"

http://movies.nytimes.com/2010/02/12/movies/12valentine.html

This review by Manohla Dargis, co-chief film critic for The Times, is highly effective, especially given what it has to work with. The review holds true to the ideas of Oscar Wilde, that the critic is truly an artist whose work can transcend that of what it is reviewing.

Her opinion is strong, consistent and obvious from the first few words: “The best and really only sensible thing to say about the dire romantic comedy ‘Valentine’s Day,’ which is neither romantic nor remotely comedic, is that it makes you appreciate...the... basic competency...of ‘Love Actually,’ the ingratiating British movie it transparently and ineptly rips off.” The first sentence’s reference allows many readers to understand her more immediately. This is her “but,” located very early in the piece.

She describes each actor while pointing out the script’s weaknesses, pointing out how they are there to satisfy a certain demographic and gives no one much performance credit. She keeps the entire review brief, showing her disregard. Ending by comparing the film to “bad television” leaves the reader in little doubt of her opinion. She is harsh at the end: “...it’s grim, grim, grim. This might not be the Titanic of romantic comedies (it’s tugboat size), but it’s a disaster... But quick: there’s still time to escape!”