Star-studded ‘New Year’s Eve’ cast falls flat in cheesy flick

Ah, the New Year. A time for budding romances, second chances, successful diets, and new beginnings. Sound familiar? You’re just about looking at the synopsis, including spoilers, of Garry Marshall’s New Year’s Eve . If you saw the movie Valentine’s Day , this movie is the same concept, different holiday. Another ridiculous cliché with dozens of popular actors and actresses all doing what they do best — Katherine Heigl as a control freak businesswoman, Ashton Kutcher as the ladies’ man, et cetera. Other starring roles in this movie include Halle Berry, Jessica Biel, Jon Bon Jovi, Robert De Niro, Josh Duhamel, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Zac Efron, along with about a dozen others. The plot and subplots of these characters in the film are all about the cheese factor (not that it isn’t heartwarming), but they could stand to have a bit more substance. I will also say that the movie does seem to put viewers in the holiday spirit by reminding us what the holidays are truly about — family and friendship rather than the amount of shopping you can accomplish. Wow, even my somewhat well-worded explanation is sounding cheesy. With a cast like this, directors and producers had a chance to make the movie a worthwhile investment that many people will love to see. They just didn’t do it. Nearly everything I have heard about this movie from my peers has been negative, and other reviewers haven’t been too happy with it either. So surely the movie is a flop, right? Of course, there will always be that girlfriend who convinces her boyfriend to go see a romantic comedy with her in theaters. According to the above statement, there have evidently been quite a few whining girlfriends, somehow bringing New Year’s Eve to the number one spot in the box office over its opening weekend. That could, however, have something to do with the movies it’s been competing against. We’ll just have to wait and see how Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows stacks up. Overall Rating: 1/10 Jessica Froula is the entertainment editor for The Bark. Follow The Bark on Twitter @BeardenBARK, and like The Bark (Bearden High School) on Facebook.