Curl up with a New Year’s Day movie binge
Perfect suggestions for the day after a big night out
New Year’s Day may find you feeling the after-burn of the night before. A day on the couch with some treats and a big bottle of ginger ale is what you need, along with a few movies designed to match whatever caused your hangover.
127 Hours
The cause: You broke with tradition and behaved yourself on New Year’s Eve. Only a glass of bubbly at midnight and home by 12:30 where, still feeling virtuous, you started to walk into the kitchen — and spied that lonely bottle of fancy liqueur just sitting under the empty Christmas tree, all by itself. Except for the box of chocolate-covered cherries in brandy beside it.
The cure: There are worse decisions than the ones you made. Like going hiking in remote Utah slot canyons without letting anyone know where you are going or failing to take enough water — and then falling down a deep crevice and getting very stuck. Based on a true story, watch Aron Ralston (James Franco) pay for his poor decisions and then be forced to make some very tough ones in Danny Boyle’s multiple Oscarnominated drama.
New Year’s Eve
The cause: Your NYE plan was all laid out: cocktails and manicures with your besties, then dinner with your SO before heading off to Nathan Phillips Square for the party, DJs and fireworks at midnight. Which you missed because you were snoring in the back of a cab at 11 p.m.
The cure: Since you missed New Year’s Eve, relive it with Garry Marshall’s 2011 romantic comedy New Year’s Eve. It’s pretty terrible, but filled with so many stars you won’t be bored. There’s Halle Berry, Jessica Biel and, of course, Robert De Niro is in it. Sofía Vergara! Hilary Swank! Chris “Ludacris” Bridges! People who were big back in 2011 like Lea Michele. You won’t be able to count them all. And since your head is banging and your eyeballs hurt, low movie expectations are probably a good idea.
Sigur Ros: Heima
The cause: You were looking forward to New Year’s Eve at a local bar you love with a great band and lots of dancing.
But the band cancelled. So there was no music and no dancing. But there were many shots of flaming Sambuca and naughtily named shooters.
The cure: Make up for missed music with this homecoming tour as the Icelandic members of Sigur Ros travel their homeland, playing their hauntingly dreamy music in gorgeous places big and small for appreciative fans. A combo of concert and travelogue, it’s beautifully intimate and low key, so as not to rattle your sensitive cranium. Bonus: it’s directed by Canadian Dean DeBlois of How to Train Your Dragon fame.
Inside Out
The cause: The family party with friends, family and a houseful of kids was a brilliant plan to bring everyone together for New Year’s Eve. And wasn’t it great that your sister-in-law made her signature eggnog with four kinds of rum? And why did it go down so smoothly? Ow.
The cure: Self-preservation dictates you need a way to keep the kids quiet with an all-ages flick but one that adults can also enjoy. Rescue is at hand with Pixar animation Inside Out. Set inside 12-year-old Riley’s head with the voices of Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith, Bill Hader, Lewis Black and Mindy Kaling portraying her often-battling emotions, it’s entertaining, smart and charming. An ideal antidote.
The Hangover
The cause: You came by it honestly, with a great night and a good time in every possible meaning of the phrase. The couch beckons.
The cure: You’ve got one, so celebrate it by watching The Hangover. The 2009 original is the only one to see, as Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis go on an epic bachelor-party adventure. And while you may have also felt like Stu when you woke up this morning, you don’t have a chicken in your bathroom. Bonus!