New Year's Eve
New Year’s Eve features lots of pretty faces in pretty unlikely circumstances – I mean come on, with a potential audience of a billion people worldwide there’s no contingency plan for every conceivable mechanical hitch that might plague the storied ball that drops at midnight on New Year’s Eve in Time Square? Yet it happens here and the fix falls on the shoulders of Claire Morgan (Hilary Swank) who also has to deal with a no show superstar performer named Jensen (Jon Bon Jovi) who has picked tonight to pine over Laura (rom-com staple Katherine Heigl) the only woman in the world not interested in jumping his bones. To the rescue after being rescued herself from an elevator incident with Randy (Ashton Kutcher) is a singer named Elise (Lea Michele who’s Glee carryover wannabe determined to make persona it is really getting old). While this is going on courier Paul (Zak Effron) is trying to help Ingrid (Michelle Pfeiffer) speed through her impossible bucket list so that she will give him tickets to the big Apple’s hottest new year’s bash. Meantime while record company exec Sam (Josh Duhamel) tries to battle his way to that party for a keynote speech part of the throng impeding his progress is Hailey (Abigail Breslin) hoping to hook up with teen crush Seth (Jake T. Austin) for a midnight kiss despite the protest of her single mom Kim (a completely miscast Sarah Jessica Parker). The film tries to make a point about new beginnings but only seems to point out how Time Square is a glorious opportunity for product placement. One could go on and on checking off the long roster of A-list actors treading water in embarrassing roles but suffice it to say that New Year’s Eve sufferers the affliction of many star studded films – the whole is much less than the sum of the parts. Toss in Garry Marshall at the helm and it’s almost guarantee. So guess who is the driving force here? The initials are GM and don’t be thinking General Motors.