I just sent my friend a one word email about this:

That word was No.

Please, please no. No a million times. I’ve read the books – I wish they were better written, and if you try to fight me on that, the phrase ‘inner goddess’ appears no less than 50 times, I rest my case. I am happy for the space this book opened up for women to talk about their sexuality in a positive, informed, and, I hope, healthy way. Coupling this film’s release with Valentine’s Day? No.

For so many reasons. I’m happy to celebrate the 14th as a day where I consciously tell people in my life that I love them, from friends to family and beyond. I’m happy for people who want to book a restaurant reservation in early January for a 10:30 pm sitting if that’s the thing they do. I’m totally cool with bowls of silver, pink, and red Hershey’s kisses all over the damn place. Making sure significant others everywhere are stuck in a theater on Valentine’s Saturday with no hope of sneaking in a flask? No.

I would begrudgingly admire the shameless marketing tactic if it weren’t so obvious and, frankly, unoriginal – perhaps an unintentional reflection of the film’s source material?