Those who don't like crowds might take caution with "New Year's Eve." There are bunches of people in the Times Square sequences, and perhaps even more in the main cast of characters. For those who enjoy mass companionship, this movie may be your sort-of-overflowing punch bowl.
"New Year's Eve" follows the same conceit as the reasonably popular film "Valentine's Day" a few years ago, and is made by the same creative team. Gather a roster of Hollywood A-listers (some of them are B-pluses), then merge them into multiple storylines surrounding an occasion rife with potential strife, melancholy, nostalgia and glimmers of hope and optimism. It's a soup that's too busy with ingredients, but "New Year's Eve" isn't too concerned with creative precision beyond the bouncy-pouncy score that accompanies and often overinterprets its characters' stock dialogue and forced emotions.
Then again, there are no presumably great expectations for audiences using "New Year's Eve" as a brief, mostly mindless escape from the holiday rush. The film is what it's happy to be ---- a breezy carousel of mid-level entertainment.
There are too many mini-storylines to list in "New Year's Eve," but here are a few: The new boss (Hilary Swank) of the Times Square festivities is afraid of heights, and her dropping ball won't drop. (That isn't code, it really won't). A dying man (Robert DeNiro) wants to see the downtown festivities from atop the hospital roof. Perhaps his kind nurse (Halle Berry) can help. A lonely music-industry secretary (Michelle Pfeiffer) is given a whirlwind tour of NYC by a hyperactive bicycle messenger (Zac Efron). A harried mom (Sarah Jessica Parker) can't stop her 15-year-old daughter from experiencing her first New Year's Eve with friends. Two couples race to deliver the first baby of the new year. A comic-book illustrator (Ashton Kutcher) finds himself trapped in an elevator with a rock-music groupie. A rock-music star (Jon Bon Jovi) hopes to make amends with a recent former love (Katherine Heigl).
There are more, but it might take until the following New Year's Eve to list all the particulars. As directed by Garry Marshall, who directed "Valentine's Day," the mini-stories are given brisk, superficial treatment, but with just enough syrup and skill to tug the hearts of willing viewers.
All said, "New Year's Eve" succeeds because it delivers as scheduled, even if the goods are lacking. If your resolution is to cut back on this sort of simple fare, this isn't such a bad last hurrah, and it's hangover effects likely minimal. Bring some sort of romance scorecard, though.