Parents' Guide to I Hate New Year's

This LGBTQ+ romcom is a giant step in the right direction with one big fault: It's not good. Frampton (of the band Meg & Dia) plays an out pop singer who found success writing about heartache, but her creativity has dried up. In hopes of finding inspiration, she spends her New Year's Eve barhopping in search of her ex while completely unaware that her best friend, Cassie (Ashley Argota), is in love with her. This is definitely a romance, but "romcom" may be a stretch -- I Hate New Year's is lighthearted, but you're unlikely to physically laugh. The concept is cute, until you realize that it was better executed in both Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist and Scott Pilgrim vs The World -- which makes this film's thud resonate more loudly.

As far as the actual filmmaking goes, it seems like all expenses were spared. Bad photography and lighting, dead audio, roomy editing, awkward acting, a lack of chemistry, and a lame script that occasionally has one character winking at the camera combine to give off "student film" vibes, rather than the work of an experienced director (Christin Baker). Maybe the entire budget was thrown at the music -- and given that it's set in Nashville, that may be most relevant. The music put together by Emer Kinsella is phenomenal, with several original songs by impressive songwriters Billy Steinberg (Cyndi Lauper's "True Colors" is just one of his hits) and Josh Alexander (Demi Lovato's "Give My Heart a Break") smashing expectations. While there's no harmony here, as a piece of well-intentioned progress, this movie does hit a couple of high notes.