The Lost Valentine (2011) Jennifer Love Hewitt, Betty White, Sean Faris, Billy Magnussen, Meghann Fahy Movie Review

The Lost Valentine (2011)   4/54/54/54/54/5


Betty White and Jennifer Love Hewitt in The Lost Valentine (2011)

True Love Never Dies

Every year, on Valentine's Day, Caroline Thomas (Betty White - Annie's Point) returns to the train station where back in 1944, on what was their first wedding anniversary, she waved off her husband, a naval pilot, who sadly never returned, still technically missing in action. It is a story Lucas Thomas (Sean Faris - The Joneses Unplugged) knows very well as Caroline is his grandmother who he loves dearly and it is Lucas who tells a friend of his who runs a TV station this story of her enduring love. It leads to Susan Allison (Jennifer Love Hewitt - The Audrey Hepburn Story), a TV journalist, being assigned the story and despite her initial reluctance ends up not only befriending Caroline but being captivated by her love story and memories of life back then. She also finds herself falling for Lucas despite the fact that she is already involved with international reporter Andrew Hawthorne (Will Chase).

A sweet little old lady makes "The Lost Valentine" grab you with in seconds of the movie starting and keeps you captivated for its duration. That little old lady is of course Betty White and seeing her as Caroline head to a train station where many years earlier she waved off her loved one is so touching, especially as we see her eyes well up when she sees the old photo of her and her husband is still there at the station. Okay the flashback scene which sees the tearful goodbye helps to establish her character but it is Betty White and her warmth as a person which draws you in with little in the way of resistance. And to be honest just thinking about this enduring love story with her husband never officially declared dead makes you wonder if by miracle he will be found by the time "The Lost Valentine" ends.

Sean Faris in The Lost Valentine (2011)

But there is more to "The Lost Valentine" than just the enduring appeal of Betty White and alongside those flashbacks to young Caroline we have the more regular plot which sees the cynical Susan trying to get the scoop on Caroline's love story only to find herself falling for Lucas. This side is so routine that we not only have some initial antagonism between Susan and Lucas but of course there is the professional boyfriend back in the city who Susan has her doubts about. But whilst Jennifer Love Hewitt and Sean Faris play their parts well, and I have to say look very good, it is the combination of Betty White and the story of Caroline and her enduring love for her missing husband which simply grabs you, well that and a plot development which will tug at your heart strings.

What this all boils down to is that "The Lost Valentine" is one of those amazingly charming love stories which simply grab you from the minute they start and never let you go with every scene having some thing simply smile worthy about it.


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