New Years Eve

Cast
Ashton Kutcher, Lea Michele, Zac Efron, Michelle Pfeiffer, Josh Duhamel, Sarah Jessica Parker, Abigail Breslin, Sofía Vergara, Jon Bon Jovi, Katherine Heigl, Russel Peters, Robert De Niro, Halle Berry, Hilary Swank, Ludacris, Hector Elizondo, Jessica Biel, Seth Meyers, Carla Gugino, Sarah Paulson, Til Schweiger

Garry Marshall is making a habit of taking up a special moment in everyone’s life and converting it into a multi super starrer, multiple story line movie (MSSMSLM). We saw Valentines Day last year and this year it is New Years Eve. Whats the best that the next 2 movies are going to be titled – Merry Christmas and Happy Thanksgiving? Any takers? =D. But jokes apart, if there is anyone who deserves to be titled the king of the Romantic Comedy genre it is Marshall. I mean look at the list – Pretty Woman, Frankie & Johnny, Runaway Bride, Princess Diaries, Raising Helen and then the occasion based movies last year and now. Wow!!! Quite certain that no one can challenge this position.

New Years Eve is your average MSSMSL Romantic Comedy (refer previous paragraph for the expansion of this acronym). If you are a sucker for Romantic Comedies like this author, you are bound to shed a small tear or two thanks to the “Oh how sweet” moments that pepper the movie. There would normally be 6 stories in this genre of movies but in NYE, there are 9!!!! So lets start counting shall we?

We have a secretary who has apparently spent a better part of her life dreaming about what she wants and hasn’t done it till now. So her bucket list is neatly folded away in her purse. She works for an insensitive boss and decides that NYE is a good time to build a friendship with the local courier delivery guy who is too sweet to ignore her desire to complete everything on her list – all because it gets him passes for the Ahern Records New Years Bash. An organization that is owned by a mother and son duo since the father passed. The son has met someone fantastic the previous NYE and needs to meet her again as planned this NYE.

Then there are 2 couples expecting a child and are competing to be the one closest to the strike of midnight. There is a mother who wants to spend NYE with her 15 year old daughter who in turn wants to be with her first boy friend and get kissed when the year turns over. A Vietnam War Photographer who is dying of cancer and is regretful about. He develops a friendship with a nurse who is missing the love of her life who is serving in IRAQ or someplace in the middle east I guess. Then there is a super star singer who is also played by a super star singer. He develops cold feet the year before and runs away from his super star chef fiancé only to return this year to perform at the Ahern bash and the Times Square Party as well. Rounding off the stories are those of the organizer of the Times Square Ball (didn’t know something like that existed and now I have to see it in person) and that of a NYE skeptic who gets stuck in an elevator for 8 hours with a back-up singer for the super star singer. Phew!!!! I hope haven’t missed any.

All in all if you don’t get over awed with the over-supply of stars – who each get 7 mins and 48.38 seconds of screen time, NYE is a decent way to spend a Saturday afternoon with someone who really matters to you. Full points to Garry Marshall once again for having cemented his position as the King of RomCom. Just keep a look out for a bunch of teenagers and be prepared for their screams every time Zac Efron comes on screen. 6 on 10 like most Garry Marshall movies (with the exception of Pretty Woman).

Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi673095449/

Runaway Bride

Garry Marshall is an expert at RomComs. And Runaway Bride would rate as one of the better movies that he has made. I guess Mr. Marshall, very early in his career i.e. way back in 1990 realised that he hit pay dirt with Julia Roberts and Richard Gere when he made Pretty Woman. We all know that Pretty Woman went on to break almost every Box Office record set previously. I mean which movie can you remember that lasted for nearly 50 weeks in India????? Mind you this was the era before the VCD and piracy. But lets not take the credit away from Garry for having given us some really great moments in an evergreen genre @ the movies – The Romantic Comedy.

In the Runaway Bride, Richard Gere plays the role of Ike Graham, a successful columnist who is hated to the core by most women thanks to his blunt and satirical comments directed towards them. He is however, in for a lot more trouble this time. Unable to hit upon an idea, that last minute man that he always is, he commits the cardinal error of journalism. Doesn’t verify his source. A half drunk man, apparently broken hearted, introduces him to the concept of the man eating woman who, it would seem, gets her kicks out leaving her “husbands-to-be” stranded @ the altar waiting to say “I do”. Please welcome Ms. Maggie Carpenter (Julia Roberts)!!!!

Now Ms. Carpenter is obviously displeased at this public display of her inability to cross the bridge 3 times in a row and quickly fires a note to Ellie (Rita Wilson) - Mr. Graham’s editor who also happens to be his ex-wife - threatening a law suit. Ellie is unfortunately left with no choice but to fire Ike since nearly 15 points in the article are incorrect – whatever happened to the gospel truth of a drunk man never lying. Poor Ike is now jobless but does have a guardian angel in Fisher (Hector Elizondo) who is Ellie’s current husband. Fisher comes up with a plan to vindicate Ike – by going after the true story – get it straight from the horse’s mouth.

So our hero makes his way to the sleepy li’l town where our heroine is seemingly creating havoc. Obviously he was mentally prepared to not receive a hero’s welcome. But definitely didn’t expect to get his hair coloured like a rainbow. That’s just the beginning. What Maggie isn’t prepared for is that Ike, the journalist that he is, has his smooth way with words and quickly manages to strike a chord with almost everyone in the town including Maggie’s 4th bride to be – Bob Kelly (Christopher Meloni). This time around, he wants to ensure that he gets all the facts right – what do they say about learning things the hard way? He uses his gift of the gab to the best and squirms his way into learning as many gory details as possible from people around the town, almost ex-husbands etc. Unfortunately, they also get to know a lot about each other and as luck would have it… oops… fall in love … now what????

Julia Roberts & Richard Gere have an on screen chemistry that can be compared by very very few. They actually bring to life, the mushy stuff that dreams are made of. The fact that they are good actors only adds to the entertainment. But the benchmark that they set for themselves with Pretty Woman continues to be the one that they share.

There are some brilliant moments in the movie. Chief among them being the reaction that Maggie has to Ike when he says, “Look, I guarantee there'll be tough times. I guarantee that at some point, one or both of us is gonna want to get out of this thing. But I also guarantee that if I don't ask you to be mine, I'll regret it for the rest of my life, because I know, in my heart, you're the only one for me”. For my money’s worth – one of the best dialogues from a RomCom. Just one of the reasons that Garry Marshall is the best guy to make a RomCom.

Easy watch any given Sunday. Not difficult to go thru. Nothing complicated. Simple straight forward vintage romance. 6 on 10 for this one.

Valentines Day

Here’s one of those extremely feel good romantic comedies. An out and out chick flick. Minor tear jerker. But what it does give you is a slightly different perspective. The idea of course being what happens on Valentines Day. But with a slight twist. What happens when u get dumped or find out that the love of your life has cheated on you or that the love of your life is actually old enough to be your mother or you have no clue why you are in love with the person but you still are or you realize that your current boyfriend is married with 2 kids or you meet the one meant for you doing something that you really don’t want to be doing…. 6 such stories intertwined form the basic premise of Valentines Day.


Now I am a self confessed romantic and missed out on the movie when it released about 6 months back. But got myself the DVD anyways as soon as it released a couple of weeks back.

The story begins with Reed Bennett (Ashton Kutcher) who in typical V Day style starts off his day by proposing to Morley Clarkson (Jessica Alba) who says yes. Reed is a florist who has his own reasonable size hand me down business from his granddad and is one of the few people in the world who is always happy. Obviously Morley says yes but much to the surprise of most people who know Reed for reasons best known to them. It is very typical of most of your friends who don’t tell you in as many words that the woman who u think is the one is probably not actually THE ONE.

Reed's best friend is Julia Fitzpatrick (Jennifer Garner) who is currently dating Dr. Harrison Copeland (Patrick Dempsey). Julia’s close friend is Kara (Jessica Biel) who is a PR specialist for NFL player Sean Jackson (Eric Dane) and is having a tough time deciding whether to continue with his career or not. Kara does not believe in V Day and spends it each time throwing a “I Hate Valentines Day” party. Julia also teaches at a school where Edison (Bryce Robinson) is a primary school student. Edison stays with his grandparents Edgar (Hector Elizondo) and Estelle (Shirley MacLaine) who spend V Day every year by watching a movie @ a Cemetery which is actually top draw on V Day. Edison’s baby sitter Grace (Emma Roberts) believes she has found her THE ONE and is planning to lose her virginity on the same day to Alex (Carter Jenkins). Grace’s best friend is Felicia (Taylor Swift) an 18 year old bimbette who is totally in love with the school’s star athlete Willy (Taylor Lautner) for purely superficial reasons.

Sean’s agent is Paula Thomas (Queen Latifah) who portrays herself as a self confessed class A bitch of a boss. But her stand in secretary Liz (Anne Hathaway) finds out that beneath that tough exterior is actually a soft person. Liz moonlights as an Adult “Remote Entertainer” (Phone Sex operator ) and has recently met Jason (Topher Grace – Christopher for short… gah!!!!) who is a mail delivery man in Kara’s office.

Kara’s business associate is another self confessed “player” Kelvin Moore(Jamie Foxx) who is the 2nd best correspondent of the local sports station and avoids doing the rounds on V Day coz he is secretly waiting for THE ONE (yet again).

Lastly, Sean’s best friend Holden (Bradley Cooper) is a stinking rich man who is on a flight back home and is seated next to Capt. Kate Hazeltine (Julia Roberts)

Phew… I believe I have managed to successfully cover all characters in the movie for sure. No point in explaining what happens in this melee of relationships. Its upto you to find out. If u are not the rom com kinds then avoid this like the plague. If you are then u will definitely like to see this once. Can watch on the tube whenever a movie channel decides to play it. No need to really own it despite the fact that Garry Marshall has directed it. Not really up with his best movies like Pretty Woman, Frankie and Johnny, The Other Sister, Raising Helen etc. Garry Marshall is a specialist in Rom Coms for sure but this one is not his stand out performance by far. Long way to go to catch up with the likes of Nancy Meyers who gives us amazing rom coms every single time.

The casting, however, is probably perfect. The likes of Kathy Bates who is the only person not shown as romantically inclined (Kelvin’s boss) have a screen time of less than 2 mins and leaves a powerful impact. What has helped Marshall is that each actor is on her/his own quite wonderful and therefore gives their best.

Good movie to get your valentine to see. Especially if you would like to get brownie points. But overall 5 on 10 for this one.