Just like time, the plot must move forward. And what better way to measure character development and themes of growth than by ringing in the New Year? After all, there is always room for a little celebration in between characters’ lessons in life and love. This could be anything from a big on-screen bash to a perfect midnight kiss — and even those silent moments of contemplation about the year ahead.
For movies like Rent or Bridget Jones’s Diary, New Year’s plays an essential role within the story. But in others, such as The Godfather Part II, the holiday serves only as a backdrop for themes of resolution and reminiscence. From rom-coms to American crime to heart-wrenching musicals, cinema has no shortage of epic New Year’s celebrations.
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When Harry Met Sally… (1989)
When Harry Met Sally… takes the tropes of lost love and missed chances and turns that right on its head. On New Year’s Eve in 1987, titular characters Harry Burns (Billy Crystal) and Sally Albright (Meg Ryan) set one another up with their best friends, deciding not to take their friendship to a romantic level.
The following year, both Harry and Sally realize that trying to make their love work is better than a life of loneliness. After a failed New Year’s Rockin’ Eve party and hours spent wandering the streets of New York City, the two reunite and reminisce on over a decade of friendship. But, in Harry’s own words, men and women can’t just be friends. So for the sake of the new year, they look forward to what could be.
New Year’s Eve (2011)
As its name would suggest, New Year’s Eve is a celebration of the new year. The 2011 rom-com featured an ensemble cast of big names including Halle Berry, Robert De Niro, Zac Efron, Ashton Kutcher, Seth Meyers, Lea Michele, and more.
Much like Valentine’s Day — also directed by Garry Marshall — New Year’s Eve follows interlocking characters as they face romantic, familial, and career-based dilemmas ahead of Jan. 1. The star-studded movie culminates with one big Ahern Records ball. But how will the characters be spending the year ahead?
Godfather II (1974)
When thinking about the Godfather, popping Champagne and partaking in end-of-year festivities may not be the first thing that comes to mind. In the late 1950s, mob boss Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) and his brother, Fredo (John Cazale), venture to Havana Cuba where things go awry over business dealings.
As the room fills with jovial dancing and couples ready for that midnight kiss, Michael offers those notoriously eerie words to his fellow businessman: “’I know it was you, Fredo. You broke my heart.'” It was at this moment of Godfather’s cinematic history in which a series of events are put into motion; events that could only be described as tragic and prophetic.
Bridget Jones’ Diary (2001)
From one New Year’s Eve to the next, Bridget Jones’ Diary follows 32-year-old Bridget Jones (Renée Zellweger) on a journey to become her best self. When an old childhood acquaintance points out all that’s wrong with the young publisher during her parent’s annual New Year’s Eve party, Bridget begins tracking her behavior and finds results along the way.
Everything associated with the holiday — changing bad habits, getting fit, finding love — are essential to this 2001 rom-com. By the time the next New Year’s rolls around, Bridget discovers that a resolution is much easier to make than to keep. So much changes within a year, for better or for worse, yet there is much to appreciate in her pursuit of a better life for herself.
An American in Paris (1951)
All the glitz and glamour of Hollywood’s Golden Age comes through during the New Year’s Eve scene in An American in Paris. Nina Foch sings and dances alongside Hollywood icon Gene Kelly in a post-World War II Paris.
The two associate themselves with the Parisian art scene, which is appropriately portrayed during the New Year’s Eve party that they attend. Lise (Foch) makes her way through the extravagant gala, dressed in a gorgeous white gown, fur shawl, and diamonds. “Are these parties always this wild?” she asks the bartender, before returning to dance with Jerry (Kelly).
Sex and the City (2008)
What is the antidote to loneliness on New Year’s Eve? In the 2008 Sex and the City movie, Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) discovers that sometimes, a night with friends is better than any countdown frantically searching for a man to kiss. Fans of Sex and the City watched Carrie and her group of friends tackle New York City over the course of six seasons.
But the holidays are a whole other ball game. When Mr. Big (Chris Noth) leaves Carrie high and dry and without a midnight kiss, she instead calls Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) who, too, was alone. Throwing on one of her classic fur coats and many high-heeled shoes, Carrie shows up at her friend’s door with Chinese food and the comfort of companionship for the year ahead.
About Time (2013)
What better way to appreciate a holiday all about new beginnings than with a hint of comedic regret? For Tim Lake (Domhnall Gleeson), the decision not to partake in a midnight kiss is just the tipping point for this hopeless romantic unsure of how to be just that.
Luckily for Tim, he possesses the ability to time travel. And he does so, going back just minutes before the clock strikes twelve on New Year’s Eve. His efforts are rewarded, fixing a botched kiss which propels the rest of the story forward.
High School Musical (2006)
For fans of High School Musical, one particular New Year’s Eve is where everything started. A host’s prolific words, “let’s see who’s gonna rock the house next,” brings Troy Bolton (Zac Efron) and Gabriella Montez (Vanessa Hudgens) together on stage for the first time.
Both Troy and Gabriella are timid to take the mic at first, but they soon become comfortable with one another. After a quick song and an exchange of names, the two go their own ways – until meeting again at East High after returning from winter break. In the spirit of New Year’s, this moment truly marked the “Start of Something New.”
The Apartment (1960)
In this classic 1960 film, a young woman, Fran Kubelik (Shirley MacLaine), indulges in an affair with a married man. In the backdrop is Bud Baxter (Jack Lemmon), a lowly office worker who rents out his apartment for the affair. When the affair takes a toll on Fran’s life, she seeks solace in Bud, and they grow closer. The Apartment ends on New Year’s Eve, where Fran escapes from a crowded party and her affair — literally running through the streets to Bud.
The two drink champagne and play cards, laughing and smiling in a clear contrast from the man she shared her midnight kiss with. On that particular New Year’s Eve, Fran spends the night reconciling with those emotions left abandoned throughout the year. The love, loneliness, and any mistakes made all become clear in that countdown to midnight.
Rent (2005)
There are five hundred, twenty-five thousand, six hundred minutes in a year. So, how do you measure that? In the 2005 adaption of Jonathan Larson’s Broadway play, a group of struggling artists, lawyers, and performers face the trials and tribulations of New York in the late 1980s.
Rent plays out over the course of a single year as the AIDS crisis sweeps over the East Village. The thought of celebrating New Year’s seems so far away after watching the ragtag group of New Yorkers face the impact of drugs, sexual identity, and — as the title would suggest — their hustle to pay rent. But for one night, they venture into the streets with sparklers and champagne and share their resolutions for a better year to come.
Poseidon (2006)
In the 2006 disaster movie Poseidon, passengers aboard the namesake ship begin their trip across the Atlantic with an all-out New Year’s Eve party (including a cameo performance from Fergie). Captain Michael Bradford (Andre Braugher) gets things started with a speech, telling the crowd, “May you all have smooth sailing in the new year and all the years to come.”
Of course, the journey is anything but that when the ship gets struck by large wave. Welcoming in the New Year just moments before, passengers are left scrambling as they seek haven from the damaged ship. It might not be the celebration they thought it would be, but this scene definitely brings a whole new meaning to the old adage “party like there’s no tomorrow.”
Age of Adaline (2015)
Adaline Bowman (Blake Lively) was brought back to life after a freak accident with a single lightning strike eight decades ago. She’s remained in that same body of a 29-year-old ever since, running from her past and never looking forward. But one New Year’s Eve, she attends a party with her aging daughter at a swanky New York club.
Adaline seems bored. And why shouldn’t she be? The new year means very little when you cannot grow older. Then she meets the gaze of a mystery man. And from the love struck look in her eyes, Adaline’s resolution to break out of her endless cycle may very well come true. Like she tells her daughter, she plans to “live this year as if it were [her] last.”
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