New Year's Day

Face it. There's a four word explanation for why you *might* want to see this film. "David Duchovny as Billy". Unless this kind of self-infatuated dialogue-driven "action" is your bag. Maggie Wheeler, as Lucy, actually turns in a fine performance as well, but I have to tell Jaglom the same thing I'd tell Tarantino: "Quit putting yourself in your own films. It makes you look pathetic." And whether or not he's acting, Jaglom doesn't have Tarantino's sense to play an *interesting* character once he's in his own movie. He has to play the same annoying know-it-all, fish out of water. Now, back to David Duchovny. He plays a sex-addicted playboy, Lucy's boyfriend. Be kind, it's his first film, and strange to see him so young. But there's no denying who that wonderful voice belongs to. Oh, and halfway through, he pulls a full-frontal scene in the hall, right before he's kicked unceremoniously (and naked) out of the apartment. Watch this right before you watch the X-Files or another Duchovny film like "The Rapture", "Kalifornia" or "X-Files: Fight the Future." It's nice to see the progress he made as an actor. Even with this first performance, it's easy to see that Duchovny is an heir to the Buster Keaton throne of underacting.

To Kick Off This New Year, I Wanted To Do A New Year's Centered Film. This Well-Written Indie Film Was Released To Mixed Reviews. That's Understandable Seeing How The Film Takes Place In One Setting And There Isn't Much Action. If I Could Give The Film A Different Title It Would Be "Dialogue: The Movie". Anyway, "New Year's Day" Follows A Writer Who Arrives At Apartment That He Is Moving Into Only To Find That A Group Of Friends Have The Apartment Through New Year's. He Decides To Stay For A Party They're Having Which Turns Into A Series Of Everyone Discussing Their New Year's Resolutions, Goals In Life, Desires, Temptations, And Secrets. It's A Breakfast Club Like Setup That Actually Showcases The Surprising Acting Talents Of Some Of The Film's No Named Actors And Actresses. The Dialogue Is Pretty Sharp And The Story Addresses Some Interesting Topics. I Like Films That Make Me Think, But What I Appreciate More Is A Film That Makes Me Relate. To Say The Least, This Was A Pretty Decent Film That I'd Recommend If You Can Handle 90 Minutes Of Fundamental Food For Thought. 68%.

New Year's Day is what happens when a filmmaker channels their inner-Woody Allen. What you get, as a result, is sort of a mish-mash of visions and a predictably talky affair about a man moving into an apartment in New York after leaving the hustle of Los Angeles in order to continue his life as a writer. Upon arriving at his apartment, he discovers the former tenants - three young, yuppie girls - have yet to move out, misinterpreting the lease that says they must move out by January 1st, not stay in the apartment on January 1st.

In the normal world, the tenants would likely pack up and leave. But since they exist in a drama, they must stay and strike up a conversation with the frazzled, neurotic (!) writer that has graced their presence. The girls get a look at a different side of a male - the less confident, quirky side, while the man gets a look at life and young, impulsive love in the Big Apple. The man is Drew (Henry Jaglom, who serves as the writer and the director as well) and the girls are oddball Annie (Gwen Welles), simplistic Winona (Melanie Winter) and love-struck Lucy (Maggie Wheeler), who is crying to be independent and released from the shackles of her overprotective parents.

Drew connects with Lucy the most, admiring her young impulsiveness, as well as her braveness in terms of facing the world head-on. Her father warns her that packing up and moving away from her girlfriends and looking for a job as a model may result in her being hurt or manipulated, however, it doesn't bother her and believes she can handle being hurt. Meanwhile, Annie deals with the idea of leaving her girlfriends, when there may be something more to that. The last act of the film consists of a party at the apartment, thrown by the girls as a combination between a going-away party and a party welcoming the new year.

The first forty-five minutes of New Year's Day have a kind of fly-on-the-wall perspective I rarely tire of. The film makes us the invisible character at this gathering, at four different characters at a variety of stages in their life and tries to force us to make a connection in some way, shape, or form. Jaglom does this by dialog and a lot of it. The conversational beauty of New Year's Day stems from its improvisation, probably the only way this film could've been successfully done. The film has the natural fluidity of day-to-day conversations, while not forgoing the film's plan, which is showing Drew at his most cynical and neurotic point in life while showing the three girls at their most vulnerable and indecisive.

Furthermore, the film vaguely illustrates the concept of a generation gap I would've liked to see more of. The film sets itself up to play like a picture that showcases character debates based on different stages in their lives and the age difference of the characters (the man is in his late forties, while the girls are in their mid-twenties). However, despite a lot of talking, rarely does it boil down to that. Drew doesn't offer his own moral take on what the girls are doing. For a film with a lot to say, it unfortunately neglects a key-element of the storytelling.

The film's dialog is often potent, in terms of realism and fluidity, however, occasionally uninspired and clearly trying to convey some form of directorial/screenwriter artistry. Consider the scene when Drew talks with Billy (David Duchovny in a very young role), Lucy's boyfriend. The scene should address the generational differences between the two characters but instead focuses on self-absorbed conversation that tries too hard to be artful and more than it is. This is when Jalom's channeling of Woody Allen becomes more evident than ever. Unlike Allen, who can take any character and throw them in any setting with practically anything interesting to say that will always come to a certain point, Jaglom circles around his characters, almost never coming to a distinct point other than to showcase lengthy bouts of dialog.

New Year's Day is an enjoyable indie session, but after fifty-five minutes, it begins to become exhausting, all the more when we're introduced to numerous characters at a party that seem to be nothing more than empty vessels that want to start drama despite all the dialog they spew like sewers. Jaglom illustrates an interesting setup - resolutions, life-altering decisions, and personal struggles on one of the year's most loved days. His inner-Woody Allen, as stated, is channeled but not fully realized.

Starring: Henry Jagolm, Gwen Welles, Melanie Winter, Maggie Wheeler, and David Duchovny. Directed by: Henry Jaglom.

This film begins with a question that does not completely become clear until the final monologue-what happens when you walk in the middle of somebody else's story, and become involved in it, perhaps deeper than you wanted to? Is there any changing of a trajectory once it gets past a certain point in time? Or is it best to just sit back and watch it all happen? Jaglom's character walks into a situation that three younger women are about to leave, and at first (once he resigns himself to his position) he wants to help correct the flaws in their lives, but eventually he realizes that they really don't need his help.

Henry Jaglom's films are interesting in that they are disproportionately populated by complex, interesting women that are surrounded by guys that are mostly creeps. The male-to-female ratio is the opposite of most movies that don't qualify as "chick flicks" (and no, I would not count this or any of Jaglom's others as such), and yet it sees the gender dilemma more clearly than in any film by any other filmmaker that I've seen. His films are an exploration of interpersonal relationships between women in a way that every other (male) director shies away from...which is partly why his films remain relatively obscure, and so many critics view his work with suspicion.

Is New Year's Day perfect? Not quite. It has a few too many characters and a few moments that don't fit in with the rest of the picture, but boy did it make me think and feel. The final reel is as much a roller coaster as I've ever been on outside of an amusement park, and just when you think none of it can be tied together, it all unfolds perfectly logically.

The filmmaker Glenn Gordon Caron described his writing process being protracted by waiting for "the truth" in the situation he is writing about. Meaning, the twist in the plot that makes you go "Aha!" and realize how everything that came before it makes so much more sense, and yet, in a way you would never have foreseen. New Year's Day's "truth" unfolds in the most beautiful way I've ever experienced in any form of media, and more than makes up for its shortcomings.

Okay, so maybe it's a little bit cliché to watch this on January 1 but I thought what the heck.

One motivating factor was that it's one of David Duchovny's first roles (he previously has one bit part in Working Girl.) He really was not yet a good actor at this point.

Maggie Wheeler (who played Janice in Friends) was alright but nothing here at all interested me whatsoever. Henry Jaglom's dialog driven excuse for a story is nothing more than vacuous and pretentious psychoanalytical drivel. I'm not sure Jaglom is for me because this bored the crap out of me.

---The Kat Pirate Screener. Arrgh!