Too much of anything is a bad thing, and unfortunately, the movie "New Year's Eve" has too much of everything.
An abundance of subplots distract viewers from realizing there isn't actually a point to the movie. I expected, in a film including such an arrangement of characters, that their stories would all come together in the end. There are strings attaching the characters lives together, but they are easily breakable and provide no meaning or substance. At best, I can summarize this simple movie as depicting the different ages, stages, and forms of love for an array of people in New York City, ranging from teen love, to the love between a dying old man and his daughter. I've always been taught that a good story should include rising actions, a climax, and a conclusion; "New Year's Eve" just blended a mishmash of events everyday people experience, providing viewers with no excitement, guessing, or comedy.
With a lengthy cast list of popular names, including Jon Bon Jovi, Ashton Kutcher, Lea Michele, and Robert De Niro, my expectations were high.
At the least, I could expect some singing from the Glee star and bits of humor. However, as I was trying to decide which actors' portrayal to deem as "best," I came up short. None were memorable or very funny. In addition to a bland script that managed to stir but one laugh, the unimaginative, repetitive lyrics to Jon Bon Jovi's tunes were anything but entertaining.
In the end, (I should warn "spoiler alert," but the movie is so predictable and shallow) everyone gets what they want. No edges of seats were sat on, there weren't roars of laughter, and the feeling I was left with was nothingness. The highest compliment that I can pay to "New Year's Eve" is that, after staying up all night for my own New Year's Eve the night before and not getting a chance to nap that day, I didn't fall asleep in the theater.
An abundance of subplots distract viewers from realizing there isn't actually a point to the movie. I expected, in a film including such an arrangement of characters, that their stories would all come together in the end. There are strings attaching the characters lives together, but they are easily breakable and provide no meaning or substance. At best, I can summarize this simple movie as depicting the different ages, stages, and forms of love for an array of people in New York City, ranging from teen love, to the love between a dying old man and his daughter. I've always been taught that a good story should include rising actions, a climax, and a conclusion; "New Year's Eve" just blended a mishmash of events everyday people experience, providing viewers with no excitement, guessing, or comedy.
With a lengthy cast list of popular names, including Jon Bon Jovi, Ashton Kutcher, Lea Michele, and Robert De Niro, my expectations were high.
At the least, I could expect some singing from the Glee star and bits of humor. However, as I was trying to decide which actors' portrayal to deem as "best," I came up short. None were memorable or very funny. In addition to a bland script that managed to stir but one laugh, the unimaginative, repetitive lyrics to Jon Bon Jovi's tunes were anything but entertaining.
In the end, (I should warn "spoiler alert," but the movie is so predictable and shallow) everyone gets what they want. No edges of seats were sat on, there weren't roars of laughter, and the feeling I was left with was nothingness. The highest compliment that I can pay to "New Year's Eve" is that, after staying up all night for my own New Year's Eve the night before and not getting a chance to nap that day, I didn't fall asleep in the theater.
