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Michelle Pfeiffer: New Year's Eve


Revisiting—or in a few cases, watching for the first time—and celebrating the work of Michelle Pfeiffer, the best actress of my lifetime.

Revisiting nearly every one of Michelle Pfeiffer's over these last few months means carrying her entire career's worth of scenes and moments and dialogue around with me, in my head, like old friends keeping me company. I'm as surprised as you might be to admit that one moment I can't seem to stop thinking about is the end credits scene from the ensemble rom-com, New Year's Eve (2011).

The cinematic crimes against humanity in this film are legion: it's maudlin, treacly, and manipulative; many of the female characters lack sufficient agency; and don't even get me started on Katherine Heigl and Bon Freaking Jovi. But then there's Pfeiffer, who manages to make her little story arc feel true, and deeply affecting. She rises above the rest of this mess, even managing to elevate Zac Efron along with her.

Michelle is Ingrid, a miserable, depressed loner with no friends and no life to speak of outside of her job—which she impulsively quits early in the film. Teaming up with an unlikely companion, the young delivery-hunk Paul (Efron), she sets out to accomplish a series of resolutions before the ball drops at midnight on New Year's Eve.

Ingrid's story is touching throughout, but then there's the final scene of the film. As the credits roll, Efron drags Pfeiffer out onto the dance floor, and her painfully shy and cynical wallflower finally blooms. The two of them dance like Pink's dirty little freaks to "Raise Your Glass" and, may the gods help me, my heart kind of melts and my well-honed cynicism takes a two-minute vacation. Maybe it's because I'm also entirely too self-conscious to let myself go on a dance floor that watching Pfeiffer's Ingrid shake off the cobwebs and just let it all go is absurdly inspiring. She's silly and free and just flailing around, rhythm and moves be damned. It's a glorious sight to behold.

Here's the thing. Life is relentless most of the time. Even the very best days are emotional roller coasters. So much of our time is spent processing and managing the accumulated effects of daily stress. We don't have as many opportunities as we'd like to be Ingrid on the dance floor at the end, and even if we did, we might be too beaten down by life to take advantage. But then I think of Pfeiffer and Efron just being in the moment and completely unselfconscious, and can't help but aspire to something like that myself. Take those moments, hold them tight, and really, truly appreciate them while they last.

Who would think this inspiration would come from one of Pfeiffer's least essential films? Her ability to shine, even in films that aren't worthy of her talents, never ceases to amaze me.

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  1. Susan LeightonNovember 2, 2017 at 6:36 AM

    Excellent take on a saccharine Love,Actually clone. However, everyone needs to let their hair down & dance their special dance. Believe me mini vacations do wonders!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Words Seem Out of PlaceNovember 2, 2017 at 10:51 AM

      Thank you, Susan. And we all need to do our special dance now and then, that's for sure.

      Delete
  2. AnonymousNovember 2, 2017 at 10:23 AM

    Confession time: I still have not seen New Year's Eve, the only other recent Michelle Pfeiffer pflick I haven't seen being I Could Never Be Your Woman. In both films the goddess has a relationship with a much younger man.
    I am a little scared to finally watch this one, but as you say there's always a moment or two of her genius poking out through the edges of even the most generic of her movies.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Words Seem Out of PlaceNovember 2, 2017 at 10:51 AM

      Paul, I recommend I Could Never Be Your Woman, but I'm a fan of Paul Rudd and director Amy Heckerling, so I might be biased. But we share a love of Pfeiffer, so I can't imagine you won't find that one at least a little enjoyable.

      New Year's Eve is mostly just painful to sit through. You'll find yourself wanting to fast forward to Michelle's scenes. Actually, I would highly recommend you do that. You'll enjoy it much more!

      Delete

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