"New Year's Eve" is the sequel to 2010's "Valentine's Day" and has the same formula: a series of some unconnected and some connected stories set on New Year's Eve in New York City starring a large ensemble cast. Claire (Hillary Swank) is in charge of the ball drop in Times Square with the help of friend Brandon (Ludacris). Claire has hired singer Danny Jensen (Jon Bon Jovi) to sing for the crowd but he is also playing a private party where he hopes to reunite with former flame Laura (Katherine Heigl). Laura is working the party with her catering company including Ava (Sofia Vergara). Elise (Lea Michele), who is to be one of Jensen's backup singers, gets stuck in an elevator with Randy (Ashton Kutcher), her neighbor who is not into celebrating the holiday. Randy's roommate, Paul (Zac Effron) is delivering packages when he makes a delivery to the record company holding the big party. Secretary Ingrid (Michelle Pfeiffer) quits her job and hires Paul to take her around the city checking off items from her New Year's resolution list. Meanwhile Paul's sister Kim (Sarah Jessica Parker) is having trouble with her teen daughter Hailey (Abigail Breslin) who wants to go to Times Square with a boy instead of staying home with mom. In a nearby hospital, Stan (Robert Di Niro) is dying of cancer and being tended to by nurse Amy (Halle Berry), Mindy (Alyssa Milano), and his doctor (Cary Elwes). Also in the hospital, Griffen (Seth Myers) and Tess (Jessica Biel) are about to have their first baby, which they hope will be the first baby of the new year. Meanwhile, Sam (Josh Duhamel), an executive in the record company, is trying to get to the party but also hopes to meet up with a mystery lady he met last year on New Year's Eve.
Whew! That's a lot of characters and story lines but some of them intertwine later and provide a few twists. Though I have noticed that many reviewers didn't like this film, I did like it and I think it's because I take it for what it is - a frothy, escape with a lot of stars and romance. There are some bright spots in the film but the problem is that with so much going on it's hard to focus on some of the high points. I liked Michelle Pfeiffer, who sparkles in her role and has chemistry with Zac Effron. Their storyline was one of the best. Hillary Swank was also noticeably good and I think Katherine Heigl, Robert Di Niro, and Halle Berry added to the film. The problem is that it's just a lot of stars and stories and at times the film is kind of clunky.
I think the bottom line here is that for someone looking for a light, romantic comedy with a lot of stars or someone who liked "Valentine's Day" then this film is for you. Solid C for me.
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