I find that comedies are the most difficult films to review, because humor is so subjective. You either find gross-out toilet humor funny or you don't; you either laugh at the more intellectual turn of phrase or witty observation or you don't; you either relish in the jokes that use the baggage brought by the individual actors or you don't. You either bathe naked in the more awkward style of humor that involves forcing real people into comedic situations (i.e. Sacha Baron Cohen's early films; the JACKASS movies); physical comedies; dumb people doing dumb things; and the list goes on. And then there's the arrested-development brand of (often) male-driven films that have a great deal of heart at their core. Judd Apatow brought this style back into fashion, but his protégé, Seth Rogen, has refined it over the course of several films that he has written and/or produced since SUPERBAD.
Rogen tends to go a bit more postal with the films he's had a hand in creating over the last 10 years or so (THE GREEN HORNET, PINEAPPLE EXPRESS, THIS IS THE END, NEIGHBORS, THE INTERVIEW), but one of his finest creative efforts that worked as both comedy and drama was 50/50, the 2011 cancer-inspired movie directed by Jonathan Levine (WARM BODIES) and co-starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt. The three have teamed up once again, adding 50/50 co-producer Evan Goldberg to the writing team (which also includes Levine Kyle Hunter and Ariel Shaffir) and Anthony Mackie in front of the camera, all a little older but not necessarily wiser.
Perhaps more than any other Rogen creation, THE NIGHT BEFORE isn't afraid to get dark in a more intimate way. In fact, the entire premise of the film—about three best friends since high school creating an annual holiday tradition of partying across New York City on Christmas Eve—has its origins in the death of Ethan's (Gordon-Levitt) parents, leaving him without a family at the holidays, with his pals Isaac (Rogen) and Chris (Mackie) becoming his new Christmas caretakers (even though Isaac is Jewish). The end-all goal of the tradition has been getting tickets to the Nutcracka Ball, something these knuckleheads have never been able to do.
Above most other things, THE NIGHT BEFORE is not just about getting older; it's about growing up and getting over hang-ups in our lives that have held us back. Ethan is the most guilty of this, especially since his parents' deaths, leaving him afraid to get close to anyone new, including the perfect girlfriend in Diana (Lizzy Kaplan), whose parents Ethan refused to meet, leaving her no choice but to break things off with him.
Isaac and his wife (Jillian Bell) are about to have their first child, and pro football player Chris has become incredibly famous and less able to hang out with his old friends, so the three have decided that this year will be their last one carrying out the Christmas Eve traditions, including stops at a favorite karaoke bar, dropping by the tree at 30 Rock, and just generally getting drunk as hell. But this year is special because Ethan has also managed to score (I believe "steal" is the better word) three tickets to the Nutcracka Ball, so they can send off their annual romp in style.
And while the overnight journey into complete debauchery is filled with a tremendous amount of laughs, the more interesting parts of the films involve each of the leads coming to terms with their fears and shortcomings as men. Ethan keeps running into Diana, who is having a rather crazy night with her best friend Sarah (Mindy Kaling), and realizes how much he still cares for her; Isaac can't stop taking drugs (supplied by his exceedingly supportive wife) and panics about how ill prepared he is to be a father; and Chris isn't being honest about why exactly his on-field performance has improved so much in recent months.
Another thing Rogen and his team are extremely good at is keeping track of who is hot (although not necessarily new) on the comedy landscape, and then fills many of the supporting roles in his films with these strong players. In addition to Kaplan, Kaling and Bell, THE NIGHT BEFORE also features such favorites as Nathan Fielder, Illana Galzer, Jason Mantzoukas, Jason Jones, Randall Park, Tracy Morgan and even Rogen's constant companion James Franco, in a completely unexpected role. And let's not forget Miley Cyrus as herself. Perhaps the greatest casting in the entire film (leads included) is that of Michael Shannon as the ubiquitous Mr. Green, the guys' pot dealer since they were in high school, but who takes on the role as the all-seeing, all-knowing guardian angel of his flock of stoners. [In a recent conversation I had with Shannon, he described his role as the film's "Clarence."] Holy Jesus is Shannon funny in this movie.
Levine wisely keeps things moving, and unlike the Apatow films this one emulates, it has the decency to also be short (around 100 minutes). The film's most obvious flaw is the way everything wraps up far too nice and neat by the end of evening, so much so that you want to throttle someone for not coming up with maybe a few lingering doubts and questions for our heroes.
Beyond that, THE NIGHT BEFORE is a consistently funny film that dares to stick its toe in a few uncharted waters in between the drug humor, dick jokes and cracks about Rogen being Jewish. But the bottom line is, I laughed watching this—a great deal as a matter of fact. Each one of the leads brings something unique and necessary to the equation of both the friendship and the humor, and I was especially happy to see Mackie make so strong a showing. The film is warm-hearted, decidedly adult, and a near-perfect combination of very silly and appropriately serious, tied up in a nice bow.
