The 7 Best New Year’s Movies To Bid 2024 Farewell
It’s a bittersweet feeling to acknowledge the end of one year and the inevitable start of another.
Looking ahead to the months stretching before us, we’re also forced to bid a fond farewell to the previous year we’ve just collectively experienced.
Fortunately, there are plenty of remarkable New Year’s-themed movies to help us get through this temporary wave of anxiety that comes with the holiday. From classic romantic comedies to iconic historical dramas, here are seven fantastic New Year’s movies to celebrate 2025’s imminent arrival.
When Harry Met Sally…
Quite possibly the most beloved romcom of the 1980s (perhaps even of all time), When Harry Met Sally… examines the burgeoning relationship between two longtime friends who meet through various chance encounters over the years. Growing from mutually disdainful acquaintances, to close friends, to eventual romantic partners, When Harry Met Sally… illustrates how time and circumstances can change a person, influencing their individual outlook on their life, their careers, and their respective love interests as the years steadily roll by.
Trading Places
Back in the early 1980s, Eddie Murphy seemed like the promising breakout star of tomorrow, earning standout praise on Saturday Night Live’s feature player before slowly embarking on a full-time film career. After making his debut with 1982’s 48 Hrs., Murphy helped solidify himself as a bankable leading man with 1983’s similarly-veined Trading Places. Starring alongside fellow SNL alumnus Dan Aykroyd, Murphy hands in another delectable performance in Trading Places, ushering in a New Year’s-themed comedy crime film unlike any other.
Bridget Jones’s Diary
Everyone struggles to complete their New Year’s resolutions, whether it’s something as simple as learning a new language or as cumbersome as documenting every day of your life in a carefully maintained journal. Taking the latter concept for its central premise, Bridget Jones’s Diary also acts as a contemporary retelling of Jane Austen’s timeless classic, Pride and Prejudice. The first in a long-running franchise still going strong to this day, Bridget Jones’s Diary’s infectious humor, delightful performances, and poignant emotion help establish it as one the very best romantic comedies of the 2000s.
Carol
Among the most unforgettable dramas of the 2010s, Carol illustrates the gradual romantic connection between Rooney Mara’s free-spirited young photographer and Cate Blanchett’s closeted suburban housewife in 1950s New York City. As with all the best LGBTQ+ films, Carol offers a hopeful look into just how much our lives can change for the better once we accept who we are rather than constantly trying to fit in with the social norms of our day and age. Featuring a sweeping New Year’s Eve kiss that marks a major turning point in the film’s narrative, Carol is a historical drama absolutely everyone should experience at some point in their lives.
The Apartment
Sadly, The Apartment might not command the same critical favor among modern audiences as When Harry Met Sally…, but that doesn’t make it any less fantastic a romantic comedy to watch in its entirety. Among the finest films written and directed by the legendary Billy Wilder, The Apartment focuses on the endearing relationship between Jack Lemmon’s disaffected office drone and Shirley MacClaine’s romantic-minded elevator operator (who just so happens to be having an affair with their employer). Often regarded as one of the greatest films ever made, The Apartment boasts a surprisingly sympathetic portrayal of its main romance, the entire movie aging gracefully in the six decades since its release.
Ocean’s 11
No, we’re not talking about the equally excellent Ocean’s films starring George Clooney. Instead, we’re discussing the original 1960 iteration of the film starring Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, and Sammy Davis Jr. Set against the backdrop of New Year’s Eve, Ocean’s 11 finds Sinatra and his fellow Rat Pack members attempting to rob a grand total of five Las Vegas casinos over the course of a single night. Fun, funny, and unabashedly entertaining, it’s a vintage crime caper film every bit as great – if not better – than the Clooney-led Ocean’s films that arrived decades later.
Forrest Gump
Over 30 years later, Forrest Gump remains as avidly loved today as it did upon its initial release in 1994. Led by a riveting Tom Hanks, Forrest Gump shows the tremendous journey of Hanks’ title character from his humble Southern upbringing through to his college football career, Vietnam War service, participation in competitive ping-pong tournaments, and successful shrimping entrepreneurship. Though a pivotal scene does indeed involve Forrest’s eventful New Year’s celebration, Forrest Gump is most worth watching for its luminous thematic lessons first and foremost. Whether sitting side-by-side with John Lennon or shaking hands with a U.S. president, Forrest Gump emphasizes the exciting unpredictability of life in general, affording us numerous opportunities we never dreamed possible in the first place.
