LOS ANGELES—She has 10 other costars from Valentine’s Day to choose from at a news conference held in an L.A. hotel, but Julia Roberts assumes that standup comic Jamie Foxx will have something funny to say about love in Los Angeles, where the film is set. So when she’s asked about the subject, she defers to the Oscar-winning actor, and he doesn’t disappoint.

“Love in L.A. is different,” Foxx says. “When I didn’t have the name tag, it was a little interesting trying to date in L.A. But it was great. I met this girl on a Monday and we partied. We kicked it. We went back to my crib and made love, and after that we cuddled and talked. I woke up the next morning and I smelled something and she was cooking breakfast, and I was like, ”˜Wow, this is great.’ I didn’t call on Tuesday, and on Wednesday I was back at this club and I saw her with another guy. She said, ”˜Hey, Jamie, how are you?’ and I said, ”˜Hey, girl, how are you?’ She said, ”˜This is Mike, and I told him all about you.’ And she said, ”˜Oh, by the way, he has a Range Rover like yours but it’s this year’s.’ So that’s my experience with love in Los Angeles.”

Garry Marshall’s Valentine’s Day, which opens next Friday (February 12), tells its intertwining love stories with high-profile actors who range in age from young things Taylor Swift and Taylor Lautner to septuagenarians Shirley MacLaine and Hector Elizondo. A short list of actors in the middle would include Jennifer Garner, Jessica Alba, Patrick Dempsey, Ashton Kutcher, Bradley Cooper, Jessica Biel, Roberts, and Foxx.

Foxx, who plays a TV reporter in the film, says that he was happy to make a return to comedy after starring in several dramas. However, he says he has always taken the movie’s subject matter seriously. Asked if he agreed with his character that Valentine’s Day is one of the worst excuses for a holiday on the calendar, he says that it can be particularly tough if you’re a man in a relationship and you’re not prepared to do the work in advance.

“You put in so much work through the year, so you think, ”˜Why is this day important?’ But women are built differently. You have to know all the birthdays and the anniversaries, because women will make anniversaries. They will say, ”˜This is the third anniversary of when we went to Boa [Vista, Brazil].’ I will say, ”˜What? We go to Boa all the time.’ So you have to remember those things, because women will make some shit up. The most important thing is that four to five days before that date, you have to get something going so when the day comes you are prepared, and then you can blow it for the rest of the year. Get it right that day, and for the rest of the year you can fuck things up.”