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Heart-Shaped Hollywood: Even the Stars Get Starry-Eyed Over Valentine’s Day

[IMG:L]Even Hollywood’s hottest stars find their hearts aflutter on Valentine’s Day…unless, of course, they’re single and looking, and then it’s blown off as just another Hallmark holiday. Some have elaborate plans for the love lives, some like it low-key, and still others simply gave us that “Oh God, that’s coming up, isn’t it?” look. Sound familiar? Hollywood.com’s poll showed that when it comes to Cupid’s big celebration, celebrities are a lot like the rest of us.

Christina Aguilera revealed that she and her husband Jordan Bratman have settled on a creative way to spend the day together this year. “We have something special planned coming up,” she said. “We are doing a couples day at Disneyland. We always have so much fun when we are there so we are taking another couple with us so we can act like kids when we are there!”

Hugh Grant doesn’t just play the romantic in his big screen comedies – he makes a big deal out of the holiday each year. “I take it extremely seriously,” Grant said. “If I don’t get a lot of cards and things, I get crabby. I like a lot of attention and at school there was a system where you put things in letter boxes–which was weird because it was an all boys’ school.”

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[IMG:R]We asked Drew Barrymore is there were any especially memorable Valentine’s Day she could recall, but she didn’t want to kiss and tell. “Well, I can actually think of several moments but I think I’ll probably keep them to myself,” she explained. “Not to play that annoying ‘keep it to myself card’ but just not to spell out every single moment that happens in life. But I’ve had some pretty darn good moments.”

Jim Carrey, on the other hand, said he’s had to go through the motions for a couple of Valentines where his ardor had cooled. “That’s a horrible thing to feel,” he said. “I think Valentine’s Day should be a moving thing, and it should pop up when you feel the most loving. But, because it’s a set thing with a date, it doesn’t coincide with how people feel most of the time, you know?”

Virginia Madsen also wasn’t a fan of the arbitrary Feb. 14 deadline for romance. “It’s kind of evil, too, because it starts at like the car wash,” she said. “You’ll walk in like just right after Christmas and there’ll be like a little bear going ‘ha-ha!’ And then it creeps into the Sav-On.” Madsen will be sharing the love a little differently this year. “I’ll be doing arts and crafts with the neighborhood kids. That’s what I’ll be doing.

“I was thinking about Valentine’s Day and our work week has been insane and I thought, ‘When is that? Did I miss it?’ said How I Met Your Mother’s Cobie Smulders, whose busy TV schedule could definitely derail a romantic occasion. “I’m inevitably a horrible planner and my boyfriend always gets me sweet things. Last year we rented a hotel room and had champagne. It was during the week. I didn’t get off until nine and then we hung out for an hour before I fell asleep.”

[IMG:L]Smulders’ TV boyfriend Josh Radnor said his very-single real-life status didn’t have him too hopeful for the holiday. “Am I looking for someone to spend Valentine’s Day with?” he mused. “I’m looking for someone to spend the night with!”

“I love Valentine’s Day,” countered their co-star Alyson Hannigan, who said her husband Alexis Denisof always makes it memorable. “Last year was really nice – we went to this lovely restaurant and there were flowers on the table, and I had just gone to the premiere of Date Movie and I wore these bracelets that were just gorgeous. I had borrowed them, and he had bought the bracelets. It was just sweet and so planned out and thought of in advance. Putting that much thought into one evening is so sweet and so romantic. He’s romantic every day—he’s not the kind of guy who’s only good on one night out of the 365 days of the year.”

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[IMG:R]Meanwhile, Neil Patrick Harris was intrigued thinking of how his TV character would spend the heart-themed holiday. “Barney would probably say a strip club buy-out with a shower dance.” Patrick’s own preference: “Probably just a nice dinner at a classy restaurant—and maybe some rose petals.”

Heather Graham prefers the romantic day over the other big gift-giving days. “I like Valentine’s Day because I find Christmas is overwhelming,” she explained. “You’re supposed to get presents for everyone in your life and it’s kind of stressful, but Valentine’s Day is fun and romantic and low-maintenance.” Her no-stress plan this year? “I’m dating this guy in New York, so I think that we will be hanging out.”

Another star dating across the miles was less certain of her own Valentine’s Day plans. “Hopefully I get a surprise visit from my boyfriend,” said Veronica Mars cutie Kristen Bell. “He’s in L.A. and I’m in San Diego.

[IMG:L]House star Lisa Edelstein found love half a globe away, and is willing to delay her big day a little bit to be with him. “I fell in love with a Finnish man,” she said. “He lives all over the world. He teaches Ashtanga yoga. He’s coming in a few days after Valentine’s Day. I’ll have it on the 16th.”

The married guys knew that they’d better start planning something soon for the ladies in the their lives. “I’m going to take my wife out for a nice romantic dinner, something outdoors maybe,” said The Shield’s Michael Chiklis of his plans to treat his wife, Michelle.

Meanwhile, Mark Ruffalo was also cooking up a plan for his wife Sunrise Coigney. “We’re going to try and get a room at the Chateau Marmont, and I’ll get in,” he declared with confidence (the Sunset Boulevard hotel is uber-A-list), then sheepishly admitted the truth. “No, I don’t know what we’re doing.”

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“My wife is expecting something big,” revealed Everybody Hates Chris’ dad Terry Crews of his spouse, Rebecca. “Our anniversary is in July and I can’t go crazy on Valentine’s Day and overshadow the anniversary, so I’ve got to keep it real sweet—something from the heart, handmade, she’s got to know it’s from the heart.”

[IMG:R]“There’s something about Valentine’s Day because there’s a lead-up to it and everyone is trying so hard,” said In Case of Emergency’s Jonathan Silverman, who’s engaged to Close to Home’s Jennifer Finnigan. “It’s not a romantic evening.” His case in point: “Last Valentine’s day, my fiancé and I stayed here for the weekend at this hotel in Pasadena and it was lovely, it was romantic. Except in the lobby we ran into my sister. That was odd and we didn’t know that the other was going to be there. We had to hang out with them. We had to have drinks with her and her girlfriend.”

“My boyfriend and I try not to go out on Valentine’s because we call it amateur night,” said Silverman’s TV co-star Kelly Hu. “We do date nights all the time, so I like to stay home and cook his favorite meal, a seafood bouillabaisse and a risotto, and we just sit home and spend time together and watch movies and stuff like that.”

Agreeing on the right romantic meal can be key, explained Bianca Kajlich of the new sitcom Rules of Engagement., even if it’s no-frills. “Both my husband and I are so busy that a good movie at home with In N Out and some carrot cake or chocolate cake for dessert.”

Criminal Minds’ Thomas Gibson and his wife Christina head straight for dessert. “I try to find some pretty decent chocolate,” he said. “Last year I was working so I wasn’t there. I sent her a tree last year. It’s called a Texas Redbud. It’s beautiful.”

For others, it’s all about the getaway. Ugly Betty’s Eric Mabius and his wife Ivy had their first baby just over a year ago, and he said “we’re going to take our first trip since the baby was born and go to New York.”

Supernatural star Jared Padalecki also had an escape planned with his longtime sweetheart, “At the end of January we’re going to a special place: Harrison Hot Springs, a romantic snowy getaway with hot springs.”

[IMG:L]Rena Sofer is doing double duty on 24 and Heroes, but it’s not her hectic TV schedule that’s caused her to rebook her romantic escape for later in the month – it’s her TV director spouse Sanford Bookstaver’s. “My husband is working so we can’t go during Valentine’s Day,” she said. “We’ll probably go to a spa for a couple of days.”

Two and a Half Men co-star Melanie Lynskey barely has time to think about what she’s doing for Valentine’s Day, and not because she doesn’t have love on the brain – she’s planning her wedding to actor Andrew Howard. “I’m so excited that we’re about to get married,” she explained. “Everything in our lives is so romantic because we’re planning our wedding songs and our cake. Cat Power did this amazing cover of ‘Sea of Love’ and that might be our song.”

And for sheer simplicity, it seems like one Hollywood superstar has found the right formula in mind to melt the heart of his also-famous wife: “Just dinner and flowers and candy.” Okay, it may sound a tad underwhelming, but when it’s coming from John Travolta, it’s guaranteed to melt Kelly Preston’s heart.

–additional reporting by Fred Topel, Gerri Miller and Carlene Davis

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