Popverse's top stories of the day

• Lore Corner: Let's talk about that WILD reveal in the Marvel's Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man finale
• WATCH:  Watch Nickelodeon’s official SpongeBob SquarePants 25th anniversary celebration from NYCC 2024!
• MEMBERS ONLY:  For Your Consideration: Emilia Pérez is a controversial awards frontrunner, but its musical heart has proven herself for decades and shown up in Pixar movies, Mariah Carey diss tracks, and moving ballads

Valentine's Day is a funny time for me. I don't have anything against the holiday, I think it's a lovely time to get together with your partner and do something special for them. It's just that these last few Valentine's Days have been rather rough for me. Two years in a row, I got dumped by a partner a week or two before the big day. But through these trials and tribulations, a new Valentine's Day tradition has arisen for me, in spite of it all: watching Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) with one of my best friends.

Cathy Yan's film is a bombastic romp full of rambunctious needle drops, flashy costumes, badass dames, kinetic fight scenes, and lots of rollerskating. Starring Margot Robbie, Birds of Prey captures Harley Quinn's journey of self-discovery and actualization in the wake of the Joker breaking up with her. Teaming up with some of Gotham's toughest broads like Renée Montoya (the ever iconic Rosie Perez), Huntress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), Black Canary (Jurnee Smollett), and Cassandra Cain (Ella Jay Basco), Harley takes down notorious Gotham crime boss, Black Mask (Ewan McGregor). In coming together with a ragtag group of other women, Harley learns how to stand on her own two feet, no Joker needed. 

As the film progresses and Harley assembles the Birds of Prey, it becomes clear that she’s able to achieve her most authentic self when she’s surrounded by supportive allies. But let’s be clear here, the Birds of Prey aren’t sitting around braiding each other’s hair. They’re kicking butt while looking out for each other, evident in how Harley lends Black Canary a hair tie during a frenetic action sequence. Harley may have top billing in the film’s title, but the film is an unapologetic celebration of some of DC’s fiercest heroines. 

I don't remember whose idea it was to rewatch Birds of Prey, but one thing is certain: I was a mess. You know those episodes of Star Trek (pick whichever series you like) where Spock loses his Vulcan programming and loudly experiences human emotions? That was me. I was shocked and embarrassed by how fragile I was and how fast I was speedrunning the emotional spectrum every day. Like Spock, I like to keep my emotions nice and neat, and I didn't know what to do with my new form as a crying dude in sweatpants on his friend's couch. 

But luckily, Harley was there to go through it with me, along with my buddy Kevin. Something clicked for me as Harley drove a truck directly into a chemical plant where her relationship with the Joker began. Over the soundtrack, Charlotte Lawrence crooned, "And now I'm laughin' through my tears, I'm cryin' through my fears." From my spot on Kevin's couch, feeling like I was a pair of sinuses with legs, I nodded in agreement. Here Harley was, showing me that it was okay to be a little all over the place. I don't think anyone expresses their inner life quite like Harley Quinn, and it changed something in me. 

By the time the next year rolled around, and I got broken up with yet again shortly before Valentine's Day, there was no question that Kevin and I would have to watch Birds of Prey again. I wasn't hurting nearly as much this time around, and the atmosphere was less funerary and more "let's get a move on." Kevin and I thrashed on the couch to the raucous soundtrack. We cheered when Black Mask exploded at the end of the film. The only crying occurred when Harley dropped her beautiful, perfect egg sandwich onto the street.

Ultimately, like Harley herself, the Birds of Prey film contains multitudes. And like Tiger Balm, it works for just about every situation. It can act as a pick-me-up when you feel broken inside, and blowing your nose feels like wiping a marker with a tissue. It's a great exploration of friendship with a killer soundtrack for when you're hanging with your buds. And, it deserves to be seen as a perfect Valentine's Day movie for the recently single and the gratefully single.  

Enjoy our guides to how to watch the recent DCEU, the Arrowverse, and James Gunn's upcoming DCU.