| Plot: | New Year's Eve, 1981, the Lower East Side. Monica's having a party, but as late as 9, no one's there. She stews (and drinks). Folks are on their way, all looking for love, sex, or both. En route, paths cross, gambits misfire: a performance artist, her boyfriend until today and his long-time pal Lucy, two Long Island high-school girls, two punk rockers, a bartender, a Scottish painter who's lousy in bed, a pretty face named Jack who runs when women say they love him, his cute but clumsy date Cindy, two trendy vamps, a loquacious cabby, the man-crazed Hillary, and Elvis Costello. Nearly everybody smokes, and nearly everybody scores. And all get who and what they deserve.
Set during one long evening on New Year's Eve set in 1981 in New York's Lower East Village, which follows a dozen 20-something people going (but not really trying) to a New Year's Eve loft party while dealing with their life problems. They include Kevin who doesn't look forward to the new year since his girlfriend Ellie dumped him. So, his more outgoing friend Lucy persuades Kevin to have some excitement of their own. Monica, the neurotic party hostess, worries about anyone showing up while dealing with her hip friend Hillary and her Irish, artist ex-boyfriend Eric. Across town, Stephie and Val are two wise-cracking, Long Island teens who wander around SoHo after getting lost while looking for the party and end up in a punk rock club where they are befriended by two punks named Tom and Dave. Meanwhile, Cindy is a naive and dim-witted klutz who goes out on a date with Jack whom she had a one night stand the previous night, while he turns out to be a commitment shy Lothario who hides from his many girlfriends they frequently run into. And two of Eric's former girlfriends, Kaitlyn and Bridget, hunt for dates for the evening and flirt with a local bartender and a disco cab driver that pops up from time to time.
On New Year's Eve 1981, several New Yorkers are preparing for the festivities of the evening. Kevin is lamenting life and yet another December 31st - his birthday - without his ex-girlfriend Ellie, who he feels is psychologically torturing him. His friend Lucy can't stop thinking about getting to know the somewhat clueless bartender. Long Island Jewish Princesses Val and Stephie get lost in the big city. Naive and accident-prone Cindy, on her second date with Jack, tells hims some news that ends up being foremost on his mind for the rest of the evening. His relationship with Cindy he feels is a curse that is the hallmark of all his past relationships. Eric learns some devastating news as to why his current girlfriend Bridget wants to break up with him. With her new found single status, Bridget and her friend Caitlyn aim to end the evening with a man like they have every New Year's Eve that they can remember. And Eric's old girlfriend Monica (the one who tells him Bridget's news), whose party they are all planning on descending upon, is stressing that no one will show up. But 1982 may start off different than they all expect.
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