A kiss is just a kiss

I really cannot comprehend that another year has come and gone so quickly. It seems like just yesterday we were toasting in this crazy aught of a decade and here we stand at the beginning of its end. But enough reflection. New Year's Eve should be about the new, after all. Still before you can start ringing it in or even singing off-key to that song everyone only knows the first line to, you should really get with the kissing. Yes, the New Year's Eve kiss. Of course, when it comes to the perfect kiss there are countless variations. Here are a few of my favorites. May you find yours tonight. See you in 2009 and more than likely, given the amount of champagne I plan to consume, not until Friday. Happy New Year and big kiss to you, one and all.

The Classic Kiss

Marlene Dietrich and the luckiest woman of 1930 in “Morocco.”

The Rainy-Day Kiss

Helen Shaver and Patricia Charbonneau in “Desert Hearts.” All these years later and it still makes my heart skip a beat.

The Dreamy Kiss

Natasha Lyonne and Clea DuVall in “But I'm a Cheerleader.” It's OK, Natasha, I dream about Clea sometimes, too.

The Falling for You Kiss

Michelle Krusiec and Lynn Chen in “Saving Face.” Clumsy is sexy, which is particularly good news for me.

The Just Hot Kiss

Heather Graham and Jessica Stroup in “Broken.” I haven't seen the rest of the movie; I'm fine with that.

The Long-Time Coming Kiss

Bette and Tina in, oh you know the show.

The “Because” Kiss

Alice and Dana, still the adorablest. I don't even care that that's not a word, so there.

[Lovely top couple via the equally lovely We Are Not the Enemy.]