Movies to Start Off the New Year

Maybe it’s much too early in the game, Ah, but I thought I’d ask you just the same, What are you doing New Year’s, New Year’s Eve?
Well, I know what I'm doing. The same thing I did last Friday night: watching movies. New Year's eve is one of those holidays I used to have such romanticized ideals of when I was growing up. I always envied my parents coming home from a New Year's party, all dressed up, donning party hats and noisemakers. My mom, her fur coat smelling of cigarettes, would bring me back various souvenirs (noise makers, cute cocktail napkins, etc.) and I'd get such a kick out of it. I couldn't wait to grow up and be the one that got kissed at midnight, while enveloped by the sounds of Old Lang Syne. Surrounded by colorful balloons and shimmering confetti. I want to be part of the couple singing "Baby, It's Cold Outside."

Now I know what it's really like to be at one of those parties. Everyone invited is a couple and the ones who aren't will fuck anything that stands still. Closet alcoholics have yet another reason, this time in the guise of a holiday, to "tie one on" all the while acting like a blithering asshole. New Year's parties are not for people who don't like to drink. Namely me. I'll have a couple, but then I'm done for the evening. Look for me at the next New Year's party you go to. I'm the one stalking the Goldfish crackers, twiddling my thumbs, sitting on the couch and ritualistically keeping the garbage level under control, even though it's not my party. I'll be the one embracing the OCD under the mistletoe, all the while keeping one eye on Dick Clark's Rockin' New Year's Eve. Whee! Happy New Year! (insert sarcastic fart noise here)

So, if you'll be home as well, here are some movie rentals you may want to check out. They all have a distinctive New Year's flavor. Oh, and don't worry, they're not all as bleak as the previous paragraph.

The Poseidon Adventure. 1972
Hell, Upside Down
Synopsis: A group of passengers struggle to survive and escape, when their ocean liner completely capsizes at sea.
Comments: Big budget disaster flick with a huge cast of familiar faces. My favorite scene: When the boat capsizes. Great special effects.

New Year's Evil. 1981
Don't dare make New Year's resolutions... unless you plan to live!
Synopsis: During a New Year's Eve celebration, hosted by a New Wave radio station, the DJ gets a phone call saying that when New Year's strikes in each time zone, someone will be murdered--and she will be the last one.
Comments: I friggin' LOVE this movie. Elvira used to host it every year and I would watch it religiously. Her commentary was hilarious. Sure, it's got its' bad moments, but it also has its' creepy/freaky moments, too. It stars Roz Kelly (AKA 'Pinky Tuscadero' from Happy Days) and Grant Cramer, who I remember thinking was so fuckin' hot I couldn't stand it! It's the nose... and the mouth... and the eyes.... sigh. One of my all-time favorite horror movie posters, too.

Peter's Friends. 1992
Love, friendship and other natural disasters
Synopsis: Seven friends in an acting troupe graduate from Cambridge University in 1982 and go their separate ways. Ten years later, Peter inherits a large estate from his father, and invites the rest of the gang to spend New Year's holiday with him.
Comments: The fell in love with this movie the first time I saw it. I could so relate to the characters, the humor and the awesome soundtrack is 80's-licious (which I own, of course). It also doesn't hurt that part of the ensemble cast includes Emma Thompson, Rita Rudner and Tony Slattery, who I think is just cute as all get out in this movie! He needs my kisses, dammit!

200 Cigarettes. 1999
It's 11:59 on New Year's Eve. Do you know where your date is?
Synopsis: New Year's Eve, 1981, the Lower East Side. A collection of twentysomethings try to cope with relationships, loneliness, desire and their individual neuroses.
Comments: I know I'm sounding like a broken record, but I really do love this movie, too. If memory serves, it kind of came and went at the theater, but I fell in love with it because it has SO many people I love in it (Martha Plimpton, Paul Rudd, Christina Ricci, Dave Chapelle, Ben Affleck) and the fact that I love that it takes place in the 80's. So, of course, you know it has a great, eclectic soundtrack. If you watch it, I'm the Martha Plimpton character. lol! Love it.

Love Actually. 2003
It's All About Love... Actually.
Synopsis: Follows the lives of eight very different couples in dealing with their love lives in various loosely and interrelated tales all set during a frantic month before Christmas in London, England.
Comments: This is such a great, warm, funny movie. The perfect movie to start off the new year. I'm not generally a big fan of the generic-type "romantic" movies, but this one is right up my alley. It's one of those movies that makes me giddy just watching it, 'cause I can't stand it (in a good way). If you rent the DVD, be sure to watch the 'Deleted Scenes' feature. Some (but not all) great moments, unfortunately (due to time constraints), were left on the cutting room floor. Another great soundtrack.