Review: 'New Year's Eve' Is A Tame Celebration

By Michael Lopez

If you think about it, a film title like New Year’s Eve has tons of potential. It could be a wild party flick, a timeless romance, or a coming of age drama. And to its credit, this week's New Year’s Eve movie attempts to tackle all of that. But with so many characters and so many plotlines, things wind up feeling a little jumbled and uninspired.

Similar to last year's Valentine’s Day (which was helmed by the same production team), NYE attempts to shove over a dozen stories down your throat, all linked to the same popular holiday. It also throws a bit of mystery into the mix; connecting characters via plot twists and chance encounters.

The problem is, the formula is starting to feel a little stale. Though it's fun to watch certain famous faces interact (Sofia Vergara and Jon Bon Jovi make an interesting pair), the chemistry doesn't always click and the "surprises" begin to feel way too predictable.

Leading the pack of performers for this celeb fest are Halle Berry, Sarah Jessica Parker, Ludacris, Katherine Heigl, and Zac Efron (just to name a few). New Year’s Eve also does an admirable job of squeezing in even more famous faces in cameo roles, like Matthew Broderick, Ryan Seacrest, and Wizards of Waverly Place’s Jake T. Austin.

It's all quite a lot to digest, but the purpose is to show varying perspectives on New York's biggest night. To the film’s credit, it covers all of the bases of what encompasses New Year's Eve. There's the famous ball drop, a Glee-inspired rendition of "Auld Sang Lyne," and thousands of drunken rebel rousers in Times Square.

But if you're looking for substance, this is probably not the movie for you. The romance scenes seem forced, the jokes are far from memorable, and several stars seem to be "phoning in" their performances. But, at 77-years-old, we do have to give some credit to director Garry Marshall. He clearly created a fun environment for his actors and we have a strong feeling he'll be giving us at least one more holiday movie before he calls it a career.

Bottom line: One cheesy rom com is bad enough, but imagine 12 of them rolled into one?! That's kind of what you can expect with New Year’s Eve. Rather than trying too hard, this movie seems like it's not trying enough. The performances are flat, the story lines feel tired, and final payoff fails to deliver. Let's hope the cast behind this flick adds "make better movies" to their new year's resolutions.

Are planning to watch New Year's Eve? Sound off in the comments or @MTV3.

Tags Auld Sang Lyne, Blogger: Michael Lopez, Garry Marshall, halle Berry, Holidays, Jake T. Austin, Jon bon jovi, Ludacris, Movie Reviews, Movies & CineMás, New Year's, New Year's Eve, Rom Coms, Sarah Jessica Parker, sofia vergara, Valentine’s Day, Zac Efron