Rating: 5/10

It is common practice to hit the market with your standard fare of romantic movies around Valentine’s Day and VALENTINE’S DAY gets directly to the point of not only coming out around said holiday, but depicting the day itself. I must admit up front, I did not enjoy this movie. I had a feeling I wasn’t going to (the only large-scale cast movies I’ve ever liked were PAIRS, JE T'AIME and NEW YORK, I LOVE YOU) and this one lost me from the first frame.

The idea of the large cast is to show a variety of scenarios of love at all different stages as seen through a variety of different people. The soundtrack does a decent job at representing the different generations and situations depicted in the film. I was pleased to see that it wasn’t just a regurgitation of a Top 40 radio station playlist and songs by anyone in the film who also happens to sing (although Taylor Swift does have two tracks here).

To the soundtrack’s benefit, it does span the range of characters represented in the film. Edgar (Hector Elizondo) makes up one half of our older couple, and as he drives his grandson Edison (Bryce Robinson) to school, his song of choice is the more classic song of romance, “Amor” by Ben E. King. Anju Ramapriyam gives us the Bollywood version of the pop song “Signed Sealed Delivered I’m Yours” which fits as our overworked and too-busy-for-love Kara Monahan (Jessica Biel) holds her annual “I Hate Valentine’s Day” party at an Indian restaurant.

Jewel features a new track that is more pop-y than her usual folk sound, but it is a catchy tune and, while listening to the collection, I found myself picking it out of the pack. CMT’s CAN YOU DUET? winners, Steel Magnolia, give us their hit “Keep On Lovin’ You” and Leighton Meester debuts a track from her upcoming album (“Love Is a Drug”), “Somebody To Love” featuring Robin Thicke.

Overall, this soundtrack is all love songs or songs about love (naturally). My favorite song was Maroon 5’s “The Way You Look Tonight” mainly due to the fact that it stuck close to Ol’ Blue Eyes' original. The rest are a bit too sugary sweet and heavy-handed for my taste. I like my romance to come from unexpected moments and neither the film nor the music delivered on that front. At the same time, you get what you pay for and if you are looking for sugary sweet, heavy-handed romance, this soundtrack gives you 18 tracks of it.

This soundtrack is available through WaterTower Music in conjunction with Big Machine Records.

1. “Today Was A Fairytale” – Taylor Swift
2. “Say Hey (I Love You)” – Michael Franti
3. “I’m In The Mood For Love” – Jamiroquai
4. “On The Street Where You Live” – Willie Nelson
5. “Everyday” – Sausalito Foxtrot
6. “Stay Here Forever” – Jewel
7. “Amor” – Ben E. King
8. “Cupid” – Amy Winehouse
9. “The Way You Look Tonight” – Maroon 5
10. “4 And 20” – Joss Stone
11. “Valentino” – Diane Birch
12. “Te Quiero Dijiste” – Nat King Cole
13. “Jump Then Fall” – Taylor Swift
14. “Shine” – Black Gold
15. “Keep On Lovin’ You” – Steel Magnolia
16. “Somebody To Love” – Leighton Meester (ft. Robin Thicke)
17. “I’m Into Something Good” – The Bird And The Bee
18. “Signed Sealed Delivered I’m Yours” – Anju Ramapriyam