New Year's Eve Directed by: Garry Marshall Starring: Ashton Kutcher, Zac Efron, Jessica Biel, Katherine Heigl, Robert De Niro Rating: Not Yet Rated Release Date: December 9, 2011
TRAILER SCORE: 3/10
Thoughts by TSR: Show of hands: How many of you finished watching Valentine’s Day and said to yourself, “I really hope they make another movie exactly like this, only this time it should be about New Year’s Eve!” Ask and ye shall receive. Director Garry Marshall is following up his ode to romance on Valentine’s Day with another holiday-centric film – this time revolving around New Year’s Eve – that looks nearly identical. Sure, the setting is changed from Los Angeles to New York, and there are some different people in the cast, but this trailer makes it clear New Year’s Eve isn’t straying far from the formula that raked in over $200 million last year.
The cast –- combining expected names like Katherine Heigl and Ashton Kutcher with oddities like Jon Bon Jovi and Robert De Niro –- is once again so big it ultimately leaves little hope that I’d care about any of these characters. Unfortunately, the needlessly large cast isn’t the only issue. There are numerous bad moments throughout the trailer, but two in particular stand out. First, Sarah Jessica Parker and I had essentially the same reaction to Abigail Breslin lifting up her shirt to expose her bra. She’s 15! Come on, I know her grandpa had her do a risqué dance during the Little Miss Sunshine contest, but I don’t want to see little Olive Hooper lifting up her shirt in public. The other moment is when Katherine Heigl says, “There’s going to be more celebrities here than rehab.” I suppose it’s fitting that my least favorite person in the cast would have the worst, most on the nose line of the trailer.
Anybody who goes to the movies and has a penchant for saying things like, “Look, it’s that girl from ‘Glee’!” will probably eat New Year’s Eve up. Also, if that is you, stop talking when you’re at the movie theater! But I digress. A lot of familiar faces, familiar pop songs, and familiar romantic comedy tropes might be enough for some people, but for me it’s simply tiresome – even in the trailer’s truncated form.