New Year's Eve **½

Garry Marshall directed this Romantic Comedy. Watch Preview. Cast: Halle Berry, Jessica Biel, Jon Bon Jovi, Abigail Breslin, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, Robert De Niro, Josh Duhamel, Zac Efron, Hector Elizondo, Katherine Heigl, Ashton Kutcher, Seth Meyers, Lea Michele, Sarah Jessica Parker, Michelle Pfeiffer, Til Schweiger, Hilary Swank, Sofia Vergara. Rated PG-13 for language including some sexual references. Running time is one hour and fifty-eight minutes.

Intertwining stories of various singles and couples told amidst the pulse and promise of New York City on the most dazzling night of the year.

If you read many of the national reviews you would think this was one of the worst films ever made. To be sure I've seen far better. But I'm guessing most couples who watch this will find it an enjoyable couple hours of entertainment. Its weakness stems from the fact there is no real star,  but rather a number of vignettes, each with a star or two on screen for a short time before moving on to the next one. They all coalesce satisfactorily by the time the film ends but none of them have much development. Still, that keeps the story from dragging and  most will not be dissatisfied at the conclusion.

The size of the screen has little to do with the film's enjoyability. There are several outtakes shown once the credits start. Theatres/Times.