Cast: Robert De Niro, Katherine Heigl, Hall Berry, Josh Duhamel, Ashton Kutcher, Sarah Jessica Parker, Sofia Vergara
Director: Garry Marshall
Rating: 2.5/5
As a movie, not very great but will get you in the New Year's mood real quick...
By Priyanka Ketkar
It is holiday season... So anything even slightly romantic, funny, with people enjoying and where hope and a welcoming of a New Year is involved, you tend to go- "Aww..." but New Year's Eve directed by Garry Marshall doesn't have that effect on you. Nevertheless, it will make you want to skip all these days and directly jump to the Day when the world will say"Goodbye 2011" and "Welcome 2012".
New Year's Eve is a movie which is filled with too many stars and super stars, something that we saw in Marshall's Valentine's Day as well. Nothing different, huh?
It is New Year's Eve and everyone is heading off to one destination- New York Times Square Street Party. So many people, so many lives and each one has a story to tell.
Clair Morgan (Hilary Swank), Chief executive for the Times Square Street Party is in a soup as the ball which is supposed to drop at the stroke of midnight is stuck mid-way during its ascent. She has to fix it before midnight or risk losing her precious job. On the other hand talking of a "New Start with the New Year", Ingrid (Michelle Pfeiffer) has quit her job and made a wish list which she wants to complete before 12 with the help of Paul (Zac Effron). Paul will do anything to get those Jenson concert tickets. Jenson (Jon Bon Jovi), the most sought after bachelor in town has girls throwing themselves at him but the one girl, whose attention he is vying for, won't even give him a second look. Will Laura (Katherine Heigl) ever forgive him for breaking her heart once?
Someone else is also looking for forgiveness...Stan Harris (Robert De Niro) has done wrong all his life but now, while on his deathbed, his only wish is to see his dear daughter Clair once and hopes that he forgives her so that they can watch the Times Square Ball Drop at midnight just like the good old days. But daughters are tough to handle; or is it only when they are teenagers that they give their mothers a tough time? Well Hailey (Abigail Breslin) surely is the 'typical" teenager who is starry-eyed with that "perfect kiss at 12" idea but this has actually made her mom Sarah Jessica Parker go berserk to the extent that she even cancels her 31st plans to be with her daughter. But if she cancels her plans, what will her Prince Charming Sam (Josh Duhamel) do? Will he even turn up? Will it be serendipity or just plain stupidity? But only few people are lucky in love unlike Nurse Aimee (Halle Berry) who not only has to attend to the sick on the eve of New Year but she also cannot meet the one person she loves the most (not 'coz of these sick people but because of a very sentimental, personal reason). Nurse Aimee may not have her love by her side but there is one thing which she has in abundance and that is HOPE. Well and hope comes in many forms sometimes even in the form of a new life. Jessica Biel & Seth Meyers find their New Year's hope in their first official baby of the New Year.
For some like Jessica and Seth, New Years means new beginning, new hope and new strength but for some others, it is just another way of commercializing an event so trivial. Randy (Ashton Kutcher) thinks that New Year's celebration is simply a waste of time, money and energy. Well, Elise (Lea Michele) will probably change his mind and this New Year will probably even change her life...forever.
So many stories, such less time... So much to convey, yet it all turns out fine! The movie is typical? Yes. The actors have overacted? Yes, to a certain extent. It is filled with clichés? Without any doubt, Yes. Even though the answer to all of the above is "Yes", the movie doesn't leave a bad taste after watching it. In fact, it will really make you want your New Year's Day to be special, even you will want to make a list of resolutions and even you will want someone to kiss you at the stroke of midnight. Technically the movie is sound. The editing, the connections among the characters, the casting, all has been done well.
New Year's Eve is definitely "Typical" and not for the intelligent cinema lovers but in fact, for those with dreamy eyes and who feel that love is in the air! Despite the lack of the real festive cheer, the movie manages to entertain you and bring a smile on your faces. An extremely warm, feel-good film.