“New Year’s Eve” was created by director Garry Marshall, best known for “Pretty Woman,” who produced “Valentine’s Day” with the same team last year. The entire movie is basically just a montage of eight (yes, eight) very cliché New Year’s Eve stories, pitching New York as the ultimate place to be when the countdown to midnight begins.

The number of stars in this film is, quite frankly, overwhelming and unnecessary. The star matchups are for the most part unequal and lacking real chemistry.

One story line consists of Katherine Heigl (“Life as We Know It”) and Jon Bon Jovi (“Pucked”), who plays a rock star named Jensen. This matchup is probably the worst. Heigl’s usual romantic comedy character with a fiery demeanor is completely off with Bon Jovi’s bad acting and placid attitude. He does however, deliver a few decent song performances throughout the film; it is Bon Jovi, after all.

Next up is Hilary Swank (“The Resident”) who plays a new Times Square Alliance vice president. When the big ball stops working, it’s her duty to get things rolling. Her character really has no substance, and the speech she gives late in the film is just one of the many played-out references to New Year’s Eve being a time to reflect and forgive.

The third piece consists of Ashton Kutcher (“No Strings Attached”) in a toned-down version of his usual comedic character, which was actually kind of refreshing. He and Lea Michelle get stuck in an apartment elevator for hours on the big night. Obviously, since Lea Michele (“Glee”) is Lea Michele, a little song session is to be expected, though it’s not too bad, in truth.

But probably the most undeveloped piece in the entire film is Josh Duhamel (“Transformers: Dark of the Moon”). He basically wears a tux the whole time, rides in an RV and deals with an inner struggle of whether or not to meet the most perfect woman he has ever met, again, on New Year’s.

Robert De Niro’s (“Killer Elite”) character is an ailing old man, one whose wish is to watch the ball drop from the hospital roof. He really doesn’t do much but lay in bed. His nurse, played by Halle Berry (“Dark Tide”), doesn’t do much but sit next to him. As always, though, Berry is great to watch and has a small story line that triggered some legitimate tearing up on- and off-screen.

Seth Meyers (“I Don’t Know How She Does It”) gives one of the better performances. He can deliver a punch line capable of making even the worst jokes somewhat entertaining. He plays the husband of Jessica Biel (“The A-Team”) as they battle against another couple to have the first New Year’s baby and win 25 grand.

Sarah Jessica Parker (“I Don’t Know How She Does It”) plays the overprotective single mother of Abigail Breslin (“Rango”), a teen who just wants to go out on New Year’s alone to get a kiss from her crush. This is a really tired story, but wait! There’s a somewhat not-too-obvious twist at the end!

Finally, the last storyline features Zac Efron (“Charlie St. Cloud”), a bike messenger whose “17 Again” boyish charm is killed by an unflattering haircut and a bro-type attitude. He runs around the city with Michelle Pfeiffer (“Personal Effects”), a very sad, very un-styled woman who wants to make her resolutions from the past year happen before midnight. Pfeiffer does a decent job with her character given the material lacking in the script.

New Year’s Eve is anything but an amazing intertwined concoction of cameos with substance or dimension. The little romantic bouts, musical performances and twists in the plot make it enjoyable, though, and if anything, it’s just a feel-good movie with stars that are fun to watch.

Two stars out of five