Two things strike you when looking at the poster for ‘Valentine’s Day’: 1. ‘Wow, that’s a lot of stars’; and 2. ‘Why has nobody thought of this before?’ It’s (by our count) at least 12 of the big screen’s most famous faces getting maximum exposure for minimum shooting time, creating a cross-section of modern day Rom-com Hollywood. And from the director of ‘Pretty Woman’ to boot. Great idea, right?

The story is, surprisingly, set on the 14th February and involves several intertwining stories based in LA. There's the happy-go-lucky florist (Ashton Kutcher), buzzing about all things love after proposing to his girlfriend (Jessica Alba) that morning. Then there's his friend (Jennifer Garner), head over heals in love with a travelling doctor (Patrick Dempsey). In fact, as a wise (and rich) songwriter once said,love is all around, from the elderly grandparents (Shirley MacLaine and Hector Elizondo) still discovering new things about each other to besotted young high schoolers (Taylors Swift and Lautner), to the very young boy experiencing his first crush, to the temping receptionist (Anne Hathaway) keeping a large secret from her new boyfriend. All will experience the good and the not-so-good sides of love as the big day unfolds.

Anyone looking for a deep, scathing portrait of modern American courtship will be left bitterly disappointed. This an all-out date night movie, filled with 'will-they-wont-theys', 'did-he-didnt-he's' and even the odd 'Oh-no-she-didnt!' Certainly the film follows certain stories more than others, and the interconnection between the characters is clever if not totally unpredictable. One huge turn-off for many is the feeling that certain characters are added for ‘box ticking’, which comes across as a little cynical.

The same can be said for the performances. Certainly Kutcher and Garner seem to have the most to do in their respective adventures, and it's to their credit that they are the ones you're most likely to be rooting for come the film's end. However there's certainly interesting support- particularly Jamie Foxx as a Valentine's Day hating news reporter, and Eric Dane as an ageing Quarter-back taking stock of his life. Macclaine and Elizondo are class personified, but as you would expect there are a few phoned in performances. Julia Roberts and Bradley Cooper, who play strangers sat next to each other on a long-haul flight, are practically cameo appearances, whilst it's hard to surmise what Taylor and Lautner are even doing in the film, amusing though they are. Perhaps the biggest laughs come from Hathaway in her 'phonecall' scenes, indeed her and Grace are maybe the more

Overall not the deepest, most thoughtful, or even original film ever made- it is very much a West Coast 'Love Actually'- but if you've seen the trailer that's exactly what you expect. It delivers what it promises- overly sentimental fluff that will make Valentine-phobics wretch but the romantics among us will be in slushy heaven.