Jason KingNEW YEAR'S EVE: A Review
December 11th 2011 00:02
:
More Valentine's Day than Love Actually
Category: Reviews
I had been so excited to see this film for ages. I never got to see Valentine's Day (although it's on the list) but I have mostly been a fan of Garry Marshall and well, for me, this is Zac Efron's first film since Charlie StCloud and I just LOVE him.
This screening was a special one for me as I finally got to take my mum to a media screening as she was in town and we had a mum/ son night out and left my step dad with my flatmate. Mum was so excited as we ate a pub meal together in the city prior to the screening. We rarely have one on one time and this was awesome in itself.
For the film I was hoping for something special like LOVE ACTUALLY or an ensemble casted PRETTY WOMAN but from what everyone keeps telling me I ended up with VALENTINE'S DAY.
It is a film with basically everyone from Hollywood in it. Sarah Jessica Parker, Zac Efron, Halle Berry, Michelle Pfeiffer, Jon Bon Jovi, Robert DeNiro, Cary Elwes, Alyssa Milano, Cary Elwes, Common, Jessica Biel, Katherine Heigl, Sofia Vergara, Ashton Kuther, Lea Michele, James Belushi, Abigail Breslin, Josh Duhamel, Hillary Swank and a bunch of others you all know but my fingers can't cope with typing.
The film is just a basic intertwining story of a huge bunch of people as they get ready to celebrate New Year's Eve. It covers so many different types of people and celebrations and emotions. And it could have been a HUGE goldmine success but it falls on its ass.
Firstly the good: It truly does capture the element of New Year's Eve and the hype it surrounds but like most New Year's Eves it is never as good as one would hope and is mostly a let down for the hype associated with it. I also loved many of the characters. Zac Zac Zac - I cannot rave enough about this guy, call it fanboy love if you will but if he wasn't in this film I would have been bored shitless. His character and the relationship with Michelle Pfeiffer's character was a highlight for me and I wanted a film purely telling their story. It never truly explains Pfeiffer's character but the essence of their story is touching. It is a different role for Zefron and is more to his true self I would think - and OMG him in the grey and that lime shirt should be illegal
Unfortunately like most of the stories in this film there are so many of them that they all lack in execution and completion. You bounce from one tale to the next wondering how they will all connect up and the actors aren't given the time to dive into the heart of their characters. It is like they all have 12hrs to film all their scenes, no adlibbing, stick to the script, as mundane as it is, and it's a wrap.
This was the monumental let down of this film. You have all these superb actors, that manage to carry this film, although they aren't given the time and skill that they have to put forth on screen. The screenplay sees to that. It is cliched, predictable and lacking in any real sparkle but copping laughs at its cheesiness from the audience. When the rockstar (Bon Jovi) walks out on his own concert to be with his girl and the chick from Glee ends up singing to Times Square their were groans from the audience. Sure, she is amazing as a singer and actor, but the cheese factor was blue. Like that cheese pun haha.
Three other things that really annoyed me. 1) I am done to death with Sarah Jessica Parker playing her Sex in the City character on film. Get some bloody versatility woman or stay out of movies. I don't care about what bloody shoes you are wearing. 2) I love Sofia Vergara and her role in Modern Family is ground breaking and hysterical but PLEASE stop typecasting her as the loud over the top stupid horny Latino woman. OK, she is funny, and my mum loved her character but they just got her to play Gloria and make her more slutty and loud, it started grating on me. 3) The dresses that Sofia Vergara and Katherine Heigl wear at the end had me dry reaching - it wasn't an 80's New Year's Eve party for crying out loud and surely they could have made them look better. Seriously!!!!
OK - my rant is done. That being said this film is so fluffy and schmaltzy that it does have a certain charm. Their are some stories I loved, especially (as already mentioned) the Efron and Pfeiffer story but they all lack in their ability to achieve what the story was supposed to do.
BUT the most important thing for me with this film is that my mum absolutely loved it and really, that's all that matters. Mum gives it an 8 out of 10. I give it a 5 our of 10. Combined score of 6.5 out of 10. New Year's Eve is out now and I recommend taking your mum to see it for a fun time out.
This screening was a special one for me as I finally got to take my mum to a media screening as she was in town and we had a mum/ son night out and left my step dad with my flatmate. Mum was so excited as we ate a pub meal together in the city prior to the screening. We rarely have one on one time and this was awesome in itself.
For the film I was hoping for something special like LOVE ACTUALLY or an ensemble casted PRETTY WOMAN but from what everyone keeps telling me I ended up with VALENTINE'S DAY.
It is a film with basically everyone from Hollywood in it. Sarah Jessica Parker, Zac Efron, Halle Berry, Michelle Pfeiffer, Jon Bon Jovi, Robert DeNiro, Cary Elwes, Alyssa Milano, Cary Elwes, Common, Jessica Biel, Katherine Heigl, Sofia Vergara, Ashton Kuther, Lea Michele, James Belushi, Abigail Breslin, Josh Duhamel, Hillary Swank and a bunch of others you all know but my fingers can't cope with typing.
The film is just a basic intertwining story of a huge bunch of people as they get ready to celebrate New Year's Eve. It covers so many different types of people and celebrations and emotions. And it could have been a HUGE goldmine success but it falls on its ass.
Firstly the good: It truly does capture the element of New Year's Eve and the hype it surrounds but like most New Year's Eves it is never as good as one would hope and is mostly a let down for the hype associated with it. I also loved many of the characters. Zac Zac Zac - I cannot rave enough about this guy, call it fanboy love if you will but if he wasn't in this film I would have been bored shitless. His character and the relationship with Michelle Pfeiffer's character was a highlight for me and I wanted a film purely telling their story. It never truly explains Pfeiffer's character but the essence of their story is touching. It is a different role for Zefron and is more to his true self I would think - and OMG him in the grey and that lime shirt should be illegal
Unfortunately like most of the stories in this film there are so many of them that they all lack in execution and completion. You bounce from one tale to the next wondering how they will all connect up and the actors aren't given the time to dive into the heart of their characters. It is like they all have 12hrs to film all their scenes, no adlibbing, stick to the script, as mundane as it is, and it's a wrap.
This was the monumental let down of this film. You have all these superb actors, that manage to carry this film, although they aren't given the time and skill that they have to put forth on screen. The screenplay sees to that. It is cliched, predictable and lacking in any real sparkle but copping laughs at its cheesiness from the audience. When the rockstar (Bon Jovi) walks out on his own concert to be with his girl and the chick from Glee ends up singing to Times Square their were groans from the audience. Sure, she is amazing as a singer and actor, but the cheese factor was blue.
Like that cheese pun haha.
Three other things that really annoyed me. 1) I am done to death with Sarah Jessica Parker playing her Sex in the City character on film. Get some bloody versatility woman or stay out of movies. I don't care about what bloody shoes you are wearing. 2) I love Sofia Vergara and her role in Modern Family is ground breaking and hysterical but PLEASE stop typecasting her as the loud over the top stupid horny Latino woman. OK, she is funny, and my mum loved her character but they just got her to play Gloria and make her more slutty and loud, it started grating on me. 3) The dresses that Sofia Vergara and Katherine Heigl wear at the end had me dry reaching - it wasn't an 80's New Year's Eve party for crying out loud and surely they could have made them look better. Seriously!!!!
OK - my rant is done. That being said this film is so fluffy and schmaltzy that it does have a certain charm. Their are some stories I loved, especially (as already mentioned) the Efron and Pfeiffer story but they all lack in their ability to achieve what the story was supposed to do.
BUT the most important thing for me with this film is that my mum absolutely loved it and really, that's all that matters. Mum gives it an 8 out of 10. I give it a 5 our of 10. Combined score of 6.5 out of 10. New Year's Eve is out now and I recommend taking your mum to see it for a fun time out.
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