“New Year’s Eve” drops the ball

If the general audience didn’t think “New Year’s Eve” is another version of “Valentine’s Day” before they saw the film, they are positive of it now. It contains the same boring, predictable and cliché storyline which so many films have before it.

This film follows several people of all ages on New Year’s Eve, the adventures they have and how their lives intertwine and change on this day.

The cliché theme, which is displayed throughout the film, starts as soon as the lights go down in the theater with scenes and images from around New York. Though this displays the setting early on, it also sets the tone for this overall terrible movie.

The music is able to add something to the film which many other elements could not; interest. Both older music like Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World” and newer music by Lea Michelle and Jon Bon Jovi, who are both actors in the film, are used.

For such famous actors, most if not all of their performances fell flat. Several of them continued in characters similar to those they‘ve already played. Ashton Kutcher, for instance plays a slacker in this film like in “What Happens in Vegas.” Sofia Vergara continues her ditzy, Hispanic girl act as she does in the TV show “Modern Family.” Even TV favorite, Lea Michelle, portrays an aspiring singer similar to her role in “Glee.”

Michelle Pfeiffer is the only notable performance one will care to remember. She steps out of her usual role as sophisticated socialite to portray Ingrid, an overworked, unconfident secretary. Zac Efron, who plays Paul in the film, said one of the reasons he joined the film is because he wanted to star opposite Pfeiffer. Their relationship is viable, though their actual characters are not.

Due to the extensive number of notable actors and storylines, there isn’t enough time to devote to each character’s development. This removes any emotional connection viewers would form with the characters.

Because the movie was filmed over the course of several months, its understandable everyone’s hair and make-up doesn’t stay exactly same throughout but the beauty department should’ve paid closer attention to the smaller details. Laura (Katherine Heigl), in particular, demonstrates this most. Her hair changes so often through the course of the portrayed day, it became distracting.

Though director Garry Marshall cast his “good luck charm,” Hector Elizondo as Kominsky, he was ineffective. “New Year’s Eve” still left viewers, as Tess (Jessica Biel) said, wanting to “change the channel,” if only they could.