The Night Before
Director: Jonathan Levine
Talent: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen, Anthony Mackie, Lizzy Caplan
Release Date: 11th December 2015
Chris (Mackie) and Isaac (Rogen) have always been there for their friend Ethan (Gordon-Levitt). The trio pursue a tradition of partying down on Christmas Eve, but all that’s about to change as familial and professional commitments spell the end for the boys’ party hard lifestyle, and perhaps their friendship as a whole.
The Night Before‘s formula is tried and tested, and also tired. Short on laughs despite its constant ribald efforts, it’s another case of big screen comedians wanting to hang with the improv set and, more often than not, Rogen, Mackie and Gordon-Levitt fail to deliver the jolly goods.
Christmas films, even those that feature cocaine nosebleeds, dick pics and vomiting in the middle of midnight mass, are measured in heart. The Night Before‘s doesn’t exactly beat with comic timing and it delivers a lukewarm bromance. A dry, under-stuffed turkey of a Christmas picture.
Words: Luke Maxwell
