Movie: New Year's Eve
Starring: Michelle Pfeiffer, Halle Berry, Jessica Biel, Hilary Swank, Ashton Kutcher, Jon Bon Jovi, Josh Duhamel, Zack Efron, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Robert DeNiro
Release Date: December 9, 2011
New Year's Eve, as the title implies, is all about the day before the big celebration that welcomes the new year. Taking place during December 31, 2011 and primarily in New York City, it focuses on numerous story arcs and vignettes happening all at the same time, featuring the cast of stars mentioned above going about their daily lives on the day before January 1st, 2012. Like Valentine's Day, the film is a romantic comedy, and every actor starring in this film has a story to tell From couples looking for love to a guy or gal trying to get over a certain obstacle, the viewers sees every character play his and her part in this 2 hour movie, culminating with the big celebration at Times Square and the after party afterwards, where everyone gets to start the new year with a clean slate.
The problem I have with films like these are that I don't necessarily venture into them. True, they're fun on occasion to watch and it's literally a popcorn flick, but much of the plots featured throughout the entire movie remain dull and obvious, especially to the viewer craving for excitement, laughs, and drama in a romantic comedy film. The plot involving Jessica Biel's pregnant character in particular as she prepares to give birth by midnight for a new year bonus prize wasn't engaging, and I found Robert DeNiro's segment too short and predictable. Also, Halle Berry part as Deniro's nurse could have been played out a bit more, and the web conference she has with her soldier husband, played by Common, was a bit deadpan and unrealistic. It's true that I found things a bit dragging, but that's not to say that the movie didn't have its plus points though. Hilary Swank in particular served her role as the person in charge of the ball drop story pretty well, and I enjoyed her acting chops here a lot. Michelle Pfeiffer playing the timid and shy secretary getting her resolutions fulfilled was kinda cute, and I'm pleased to see Sarah Jessica Parker, Ashton Kutcher, and Josh Duhamel of Transformers fame getting interesting story arcs respectively. Nods also go to Bon Jovi's role, and the singer provided some great cover songs for the movie too.
Bottomline, New Year's Eve will entertain and serve as a good choice for anyone looking to get all hyped up and excited before the actual thing on the night of December 31st. It may not cater to my tastes and interests in the movie genre, but it'll offer some ideas and situations of scenarios that can probably happen on the day before Father Time resets. Plus, you can't go wrong with an all-star cast, so anyone looking for a good popcorn happy flick, here's something you can consider and pick.
Rating - 2/5
Good review. I was pleasantly surprised that I actually enjoyed myself with this flick, even though I do feel like Garry Marshall didn’t really try to do anything with all of these stars instead of just have them show up and do something. Still, a fun film that is a crowd-pleaser for sure. Check out my review when you get the chance.
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