To be blunt, Blue Valentine is a brutally honest movie that doesn't sugarcoat anything it portrays. I could tell that the old couple sitting behind me were startled at certain lines in the movie. If you're looking for some laughs, action, or to have fun, then you probably shouldn't watch it. Sure, there are times when the movie elicits a chuckle or two (from me at least), but overall Blue Valentine is the kind of movie that leaves you reeling and thinking introspectively. At first, I wasn't sure what to think at the end of the movie, when the credits started rolling much earlier than I expected - it was like I had a "that's the end of the movie already?!" moment. However, I realized that the entire movie is a portrayal of life in today's world, both the glorious highs and the ugly lows, and it could be anybody who experiences the events in the movie in their own life.
The acting was solid, and seemed very much like real life. The interweaving between present and past in the plot also keeps the viewers on their toes. Free help-yourself-to-popcorn-and-drinks at Landmark Theaters was also nice, even though I didn't have any drinks and only half a bag of popcorn, which turned out to be a good thing because I really had to pee near the end of the movie.
Overall, I give Blue Valentine two thumbs up, but I know that my taste in movies can be strange sometimes. I wouldn't recommend watching Blue Valentine as a Valentine's Day activity though.
