JOHN DEBNEY SCORES VALENTINE'S DAY


Released in time for that most romantic day of the year, director Garry Marshall's Valentine's Day opened to less than favourable reviews, but I'm sure will do well enough at the box office, thanks to its stellar cast that includes fan favourites like Ashton Kutcher, Jessica Biel, Patrick Dempsey, Taylor Swift, Jamie Foxx, Taylor Lautner, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Alba, Jennifer Garner, Queen Latifah, Julia & Emma Roberts, and, for the older generation, Shirley MacLaine, Kathy Bates and Marshall regular Hector Elizondo.
There is a soundtrack album but, of course, contemporary films of this kind are often peopled by songs and this is no exception, and so none of John Debney's score makes it on to the disc. This is in fact Debney's sixth collaboration with Marshall, having previously worked with him on the likes of Georgia Rule and the two Princess Diary film.
The composer's publicists, Costa Communications, were kind enough to send me a promotional copy of the score, so at least I can tell you what to expect from it should you catch the movie.
Debney's main theme is a warm guitar and strings piece, with flute, piano and clarinet solos also making their mark in the romantic moments; and there's a particularly good, old-fashioned soaring string theme for "Young Love," followed contrastingly by the intimate and tender piano of "First Time."
Of course, the path to true love is never easy, and the score also has its share of pathos. All of it is handled expertly by a composer who is well acquainted with this kind of fare.
Aside from all this emotional fare, there are also plenty of propulsive, optimistic, and lightly comedic moments throughout, and Debney provides appropriate colouring, where necessary, to suit the locale and situations.
The final score cue, and title track, brings things to a suitably satisfying, lush-stringed close.
The disc ends with the song "Every Time You smiled," performed by Carina Round, on which Debney collaborated with lyricist Glen Ballard. Incredibly, even this didn't make the soundtrack album!
A very nice score indeed then, which I'm sure performs its duty perfectly in the film and deserves to be heard on CD.