BEST NEW YEAR’S EVE MOVIES
“The Apartment” (1960) Director Billy Wilder’s Oscarwinning comedy-drama concludes on New Year’s Eve, as elevator operator Fran Kubelik (Shirley MacLaine) makes her
romantic choice between corporate executive J.D. Sheldrake (Fred MacMurray) and his employee C.C. Baxter (Jack Lemmon) – resulting in one of the most famous movie closing lines ever.
“Ocean’s Eleven” (1960) The lights go out throughout Las Vegas when midnight hits on New Year’s Eve, thanks to the ex-military buddies led by suave Danny Ocean (Frank Sinatra) in the ultimate “Rat Pack” movie. Dean Martin,
Sammy Davis Jr. and Peter Lawford play some of the other pals who are in on the simultaneous robbery of several casinos.
“The Poseidon Adventure” (1972) Not only does an enormous tidal wave overturn the S.S. Poseidon on New Year’s Eve, the cruise ship’s passengers are merrily crooning “Auld Lang Syne” at the moment the vessel begins
to capsize. Like many other sites, the Poseidon hasn’t yet gotten rid of its Christmas tree, which comes in lucky for the survivors who have to climb it to survive.
“About Last Night ... ” (1986) As evidence that almost anyone else’s New Year’s Eve has to go better, take
Danny and Debbie (Rob Lowe, Demi Moore), whose live-in relationship hits the skids amid a huge holiday crowd at a favorite Chicago bar. While she wants to comfort a girlfriend (Elizabeth Perkins) who’s just suffered a trauma in love, he wants to party, and the rest pretty much spells itself out.
“When Harry Met Sally ... ” (1989) Although the picture has a postscript beyond it, this comedy’s pivotal scene is set at a New Year’s Eve party where hopeless – and hapless – romantic Sally (Meg Ryan) isn’t feeling very celebratory, until longtime confidant Harry (Billy Crystal)
shows up and finally professes the feelings for her that took so long to develop.
“Peter’s Friends” (1992) Along the lines of “The Big Chill,” this engaging British-made comedy reunites a group
of college chums at one’s (Stephen Fry) English estate on New Year’s Eve. A couple of the film’s other actors directed (Kenneth Branagh) and co-wrote (Rita Rudner) the picture, which also features Hugh Laurie, well before he became a U.S. television star in “House.”
“Entrapment” (1999) The dawn of the millennium is a big factor in this heist caper, as an insurance investigator (Catherine Zeta-Jones) tries to entrap master thief (Sean Connery) by joining his scheme to swipe billions of dollars while just about everyone else is cheering the arrival of the 21st century.