Honestly, I don’t think New Year’s Eve can be classified as a tearjerker movie but buckets of tears flowed from my eyes for reasons that I still couldn’t fathom. Whatever the reason may be, let me share with you the scenes that caused my tears to flow.
“It’s suspended there to remind us before we pop the champagne and celebrate the new year, to stop and reflect on the year that has gone by. To remember both our triumphs and our missteps, our promises made and broken. The times we opened ourselves up to great adventures or closed ourselves down for fear of getting hurt coz that is what new year is all about – getting another chance. A chance to forgive, to do better, to do more, to give more, to love more. And stop worrying about ‘what if’ and start embracing what would be. So when that ball drops at midnight and it will drop, let’s remember to be nice to each other, kind to each other. And not just tonight but all year long”
- Claire Morgan (Hilary Swank)
This I guess is the most touching part of the movie for most of us, as for me what caused my tears to flow was the chances and the what ifs. It’s really difficult to find it in your heart, up to when shall you give chances, ’cause there are times when your mind is telling you that you’ve given enough but then your heart is asking you what if it takes just one more chance for things to get better. It’s logical and wiser to just continue moving on but your heart is shouting for another chance, just one more. To say that you are confused is an understatement.
Ingrid (Michelle Pfeiffer), the all work no play character that made me cry because of fear that I might end up the same way years from now. That feeling when you are filing for a leave and getting rejected as if they are telling you that you don’t have the right to take a break, that you haven’t worked/sacrificed enough for you to be worthy of the privilege.
Next is Hailey, Abigail Breslin is all grown up now, she’s still looks cute, but I digress. The mother-daughter drama, the teenage angst, who among us cannot relate to this kind of situation? At one point, we’ve suffered almost the same thing, that mama has turned out to be our life’s only enemy. But even if it feels like that sometimes, it is also true that she’s the only best friend that we are sure to have. When Hailey turned her back as she saw Seth kissing another girl and embraced her mom, I can’t help but cry. The young heart that mama is trying to shield from heartaches just got broken and is now back in her arms seeking for some comfort.
The Ashton Kutcher- Lea Michele thing is quite a cliché, it really was predictable but then again, life is a cliché, same old tricks, same old drama but it still thugs the heart like it’s always the first time.
Nurse Aimee (Halle Berry) also made me cry, long distance relationships are painful at times like this. I’ve kind of travelled that road, the feeling is just indescribable. Despite the modern technology, nothing beats presence, nothing beats being close and hearing them breathe beside you.
What would you do today if you knew you would not fail? This line got me thinking and crying at the same time. This line was from Sam (Josh Duhamel). Oh how I wanted to buy a one-way ticket to Singapore and begin a new life, not that I hate my present life and the people in it. I just want to try how it feels to be reborn, how things will work out for me, how it feels when everything around you is brand new, everyone is a stranger, how will I behave when nobody knows who I am. You might be wondering why Singapore, I’m curious how it feels like to live in a different country but I am not that brave enough to go and live somewhere farther than Singapore ‘cause I want to spend time with my family on special occasions, the country’s proximity is ideal for me.
Lastly, it’s Laura and Jensen’s (Katherine Heigl and Jon Bon Jovi) story that made me cry so hard. I wanted 2011 to end and welcome 2012 with new hopes. I want 2011 to be over soon because it feels like while I am in 2011, I am trapped, forever trapped in my “could have been” story that heightened at the early part of the year. Maybe, it’s not anymore the movie that I am crying about but rather I just chose it as a venue, made an excuse to use it as a reason why I am crying. The movie house is dark, I am alone, no one is sitting beside me, I could cry for all I want without having to explain my lonely self. Jensen proposed then left Laura, she was left hanging, she tried to move on and now that she’s ok, he’s back, he wants to be back in her life just when things are falling into place for her. You don’t walk into someone’s life, make a huge impact and walk away just like that, you don’t do that, that is damaging. The transition from believing that you’ve found someone to be with, to being alone again is really painful. Each time you remember how it was, every place you go where you spent time together, the songs that you listen to whether intentionally or not, it hurts every time you remember while you are trying to forget and act as if nothing happened, as if it was just a dream and now you’re awake to the reality of a lost love. His return wouldn’t have caused that much of a trouble if she’s totally over him but the thing is, she’s not. Oh how you want to just slap them, hoping that all the pain will be gone, hoping that it will somehow make it quits but no, it’s not enough ‘cause ‘til now you are still desperately convincing yourself that you’re over the person and it’s a lot more difficult that they are standing right in front of you. *Now, I’m on the verge of crying again*
To end this here are some of the quotes I love, thanks to www.ranker.com:
It only happens once a year: New Year’s Eve. It’s a time when hopeless can be romantic, and a resolution can become a revelation. And when one night can change everything.
“I’ve been splotting that slap for years. It wasn’t nearly as satisfying as I thought it would be.” (Slaps him again) “That was closer.”
“Remember, second chances don’t expire until midnight.”
“Mom, I’m over it. I’m over it and I’m over you! You’re just some wannabe hipster who judges everything and who’s too scared to take a chance.”
“Serendipity. You don’t mess with serendipity.”
The timeliness of this post has banished, the movie is not anymore shown in the movie house and the first month of the year has ended yesterday. Anyway, I’m still posting it despite the delay, I still feel it’s a worthy post, instead of just dumping it on my piling bunch of unfinished entries. This entry reveals how much of a tear jerker I am, how simple scenes and movie lines can make me cry which is partly the reason why I enjoy watching a movie alone. But it could also be I was just so stressed out at this time of the year, I’ve got too much on my plate when the movie was shown, I’ve got graduate school, year end is one, if not the most challenging part of the year for accountants and not to mention that same time last year I entertained the thought that I might have found the one. It was just so lonely and painful to see how different things are now from last year. Now, I’m explaining myself why I shed tears..hahaha..No matter how late, let me greet you again a Happy New Year!
