And I really hate “I Hate Valentine’s Day.” If you loved Nia Vardalos in “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” and in “My Life in Ruins,” then you will love another serving of her non-stop smile and hunt for a nice man. As Genevieve, she owns Roses for Romance, a Brooklyn flower shop staffed by two gay clichés. Down the block, Greg (John Corbett) opens a Tapas restaurant called Get On Tapas. He played the groom in “My Big Fat Greek Wedding.” Here he’s lucky to get as far as boyfriend because Genevieve lives by a rule of dating one man no more than five times, then quitting him since things always go wrong for her after that. Romance is fun when short-lived; permanence spells pain. The sitcom plot turns on a miscount of their dates: she wonders why he doesn’t call after number four; he figures number five means don’t call again. Although Vardalos possesses the appealing personality of a supporting character, she is entirely at fault for writing and directing herself into nearly every scene of this routinely bad romantic comedy. She mocks the art scene by naming an artist “B. Neo” and his exhibit “Exhibitions.” The humor is numskull. As is this quip: “You act like you were in the opening credits of some French film.” French films do sometimes screen at the Music Box, which inexplicably booked “I Hate Valentine’s Day.” Count on hating no film from that country at this fine art house like Vardalos’ witless out-of-place time-waster. With Stephen Guarino, Amir Arison, Zoe Kazan, Gary Wilmes, Mike Starr, Jason Mantzoukas, Judith Friedlander, Rachel Dratch. 98m. (Bill Stamets)
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Talking Screens, September 2-8, 2022: $3 Movies, For A Day | 10 Remarkable Films | Ozon Makes Fassbinder Lite National Cinema Day. In Chicago: "The Creepshow: A Stephen King Film Festival"; ten remarkable films in "The Story of Film: A New Generation—A Film Series"; Chicago Film Society presents "Foolish Wives"; and a five-picture run for Pier Paolo Pasolini begins with "Mamma Roma." Plus, a pair of female-led Mexican wrestling movies. New films this week: "Peter Von Kant," "The Good…
And I really hate “I Hate Valentine’s Day.” If you loved Nia Vardalos in “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” and in “My Life in Ruins,” then you will love another serving of her non-stop smile and hunt for a nice man. As Genevieve, she owns Roses for Romance, a Brooklyn flower shop staffed by two gay clichés. Down the block, Greg (John Corbett) opens a Tapas restaurant called Get On Tapas. He played the groom in “My Big Fat Greek Wedding.” Here he’s lucky to get as far as boyfriend because Genevieve lives by a rule of dating one man no more than five times, then quitting him since things always go wrong for her after that. Romance is fun when short-lived; permanence spells pain. The sitcom plot turns on a miscount of their dates: she wonders why he doesn’t call after number four; he figures number five means don’t call again. Although Vardalos possesses the appealing personality of a supporting character, she is entirely at fault for writing and directing herself into nearly every scene of this routinely bad romantic comedy. She mocks the art scene by naming an artist “B. Neo” and his exhibit “Exhibitions.” The humor is numskull. As is this quip: “You act like you were in the opening credits of some French film.” French films do sometimes screen at the Music Box, which inexplicably booked “I Hate Valentine’s Day.” Count on hating no film from that country at this fine art house like Vardalos’ witless out-of-place time-waster. With Stephen Guarino, Amir Arison, Zoe Kazan, Gary Wilmes, Mike Starr, Jason Mantzoukas, Judith Friedlander, Rachel Dratch. 98m. (Bill Stamets)
