Review: 'New Year's Eve' is hokey, but that’s all right

 

With its ensemble cast, guaranteed to lure in crowds, this Love Actually clone deals revolves around the goings-on at New Year’s Time Square on New Year’s Eve while detailing the trials and tribulations of a bunch of characters whose relationship to each other is interlaced.

 

Prominent among these are Randy (Kutcher), who is the Ebenezer Scrooge of New Years day. He is stuck in an elevator with Elise, who is the back-up singer to renowned rockstar “Jensen” (snigger, snigger) who is due to give a concert at Times Square. Jensen (Bon Jovi) once loved Caterer Laura (Heigl) but took to his heels after proposing to her (where else but) last New Year’s Eve. Michelle Pfeiffer plays Ingrid, a lonely woman whose New Year’s resolutions courier boy Paul (Efron) must fulfil to win her from tickets to an exclusive bash. At the same time Nurse Aimee (Halle Berry) dotes over dying cancer sufferer (De Niro) who’s last wish is to watch the ball drop. The ball drop happens to be organized by Claire (Swank), but unfortunately for the callow organizer, the ball, to the dismay of the city, is stuck midway. At the same time, Sam (Duhamel), who experiences car trouble, is forced to hitch a ride with strangers to get to a function in New York where he is to deliver a speech. Meanwhile (Parker) is struggling to rein in her daughter Hailey (Breslin) who doesn’t want to ring in the New Year at home, as is her mother’s wont.

 

Finally, there is Griffen (Meyers) and Tess (Biel), a couple who want their child to be delivered at the stroke of midnight. And that’s not mentioning the entire cast, phew!

 

While technically, there’s absolutely nothing to complain about with the lush, evocative cinematography of Charles Minsky and John Debney’s background score is goosebump-inducing. The story, however, is filled to the brim with well-meaning corniness and the expected holiday-time pontification about stopping, pausing and reflecting/ the importance of being, for once, adventurous. But the film isn’t entirely a bore. Uncourageous as the film is, for having so many plotlines and A-listers , with Robert De Niro and Michelle Pfeiffer’s acting chops things don’t get too bad. Even Ashton Kutcher is tolerable. What is sorely lacking, though, is consistent, solid comedy, to balance out the gooeyness (No, Russell Peters mouthing a Hindi expletive doesn't count).

 

Perhaps New Year's Eve is emotionally manipulative and has no grounding in reality, but only as much as the next romantic comedy; there’s no need to single it out. Sap junkies dont pass up New Year's Eve.