The Night Before (2015) Columbia/Comedy RT: 101 minutes Rated R (drug use and language throughout, some strong sexual content, graphic nudity) Director: Jonathan Levine Screenplay: Jonathan Levine, Kyle Hunter, Ariel Shaffir and Evan Goldberg Music: Marco Beltrami and Miles Hankins Cinematography: Brandon Trost Release date: November 20, 2015 (US) Cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen, Anthony Mackie, Lizzy Caplan, Jillian Bell, Michael Shannon, Mindy Kaling, Lorraine Toussaint, Helen Yorke, Ilana Glazer, Aaron Hill, Tracy Morgan (narrator). Box Office: $43M (US)/$52.4M (World)
Rating: ***
In case you think me a Grinch because I haven’t liked many holiday-themed movies of the past 15 years (e.g. last week’s tepid Love the Coopers), allow me to change your opinion by informing you that I liked The Night Before. I know, I’m as surprised as you are.
I generally don’t like the vulgar bro-comedies starring Seth Rogen and his posse (e.g. This Is the End, Neighbors). Maybe the Christmas spirit has already affected me, but I found myself enjoying The Night Before. While it’s most definitely crude and crass, it’s never mean-spirited. The characters are actually likable. To me, that’s the greatest gift I can receive from a modern Christmas movie. Not all of the jokes hit the mark, which is typical of these bro-comedies. Some of them, like the bit about James Franco’s penis (both actor AND body part make cameos), are dragged out. But it has a little over a handful of amusing moments. The best thing, however, about The Night Before is that its feel-good qualities, the ending in particular, are sincere. It’s the cinematic equivalent of the person who means it when they say “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Hanukkah” (Rogen is Jewish, after all).
For the past 14 years, Ethan (Levitt, The Walk) has spent Christmas Eve with his two best buds, Chris (Mackie, Falcon from the Marvel Universe) and Isaac (Rogen). They’ve been his family ever since his parents were killed in a drunken driving accident. Tonight, that tradition will come to an end due to adult things like family and career. Isaac is about to become a father; his wife Betsy (Bell, 22 Jump Street) is well into her third trimester. Chris’ career as a professional NFL player is finally taking off; he’s having a great season and is more concerned with his social media image than real life. Basically, they’ve outgrown the tradition. Ethan, on the other hand, has not. He’s still very much into it mainly because he has nothing else in his life. His girlfriend Diana (Kaplan, The Interview) recently dumped him because he was incapable of making a commitment. His music career is a nonstarter. He’s bummed this will be their last hurrah, but is determined to make it go out with a bang rather than a whimper. He comes into possession of three invitations to “The Nutcracker Ball”, the hottest, most exclusive Christmas Eve party in town.
Naturally, the night doesn’t go off without a hitch or several. Ethan, who’s still in love with Diana, bumps into his ex at a karaoke bar. Chris offers to get weed for his team’s star quarterback (Hill), but keeps getting robbed of it by Rebecca Grinch (Glazer, Broad City) whose name says all you need to know about her attitude towards the holidays. Isaac starts tripping on a mixture of drugs (mushrooms, cocaine, weed, etc.) given to him by Becky as an early Christmas present. She obtained them on Craig’s List proving incontrovertibly that you can buy ANYTHING on-line. It’s a night of misadventure and that’s before they even get to the party.
One of my biggest complaints about recent Christmas comedies is that the characters are so unlikable. Everybody in Four Christmases, Deck the Halls and (of course) Christmas with the Kranks got on my damn nerves. I didn’t particularly care for It’s a Wonderful Life, but at least George Bailey wasn’t an arrogant jerk. Rogen and his pals act like overgrown frat boys throughout The Night Before with their antics and petty disagreements, but there’s a real camaraderie there. Yes, they drop the f-bomb A LOT. Yes, one of them has sex with a girl he barely knows in a bar bathroom. Yes, drugs and booze are in abundance. One of the guys even throws up in a church. But underneath all the vulgarity, there’s real heart. It also has Michael Shannon (99 Homes) making a rare comic turn as a dope dealer who turns out to be more than he seems. Think A Christmas Carol with joints instead of ghosts. He’s the real standout in The Night Before.
On the downside, funny lady Mindy Kaling (The Mindy Project) is underused as Diana’s bff. She shines in what few scenes she has. Glazer is hysterical in her few scenes as well. Bell is great as the understanding-to-a-point wife. The three leads have great chemistry. They bring surprising depth and gravitas to their characters. Levitt and Caplan make a nice couple; you really want to see them get back together. Since you like the characters in The Night Before, you also come to care what happens to them. Like I said, as a comedy, it’s hit-or-miss. Luckily, there are slightly more of the former than the latter. It helps that the movie ends on a strong note. Director Jonathan Levine (The Wackness, 50/50) does a pretty good job with the material even if he doesn’t always strike the right comic balance. Still, it has enough good points to make it worth seeing.
