It’s Christmas… movie season time! Wait, already? We haven’t even put the turkey in the oven yet for Thanksgiving. We’ve been over this.
Anyway, Seth Rogen did a Christmas semi-stoner movie for the masses and, well, it’s good. Surprisingly good. Anyone who’s seen the trailer (yours truly included) saw what looked to be a slapstick, "Jackass"-style barrel of laughs fitted with holiday dressings.
But that isn’t a bad thing. In fact, it’s my favorite Christmas movie to be released in a while — a slight bias, as said films tend to lose me (save for “The Nightmare Before Christmas”).
Three bros — Issac (Rogen), Ethan (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and Chris (Anthony Mackie) — had a Christmas tradition that began after Ethan’s parents died before the holiday. The three would track a secret Christmas party while hitting their favorite spots along the way in New York City.
However, fourteen years later Isaac is prepping for fatherhood, Chris is a star pro-football player and Ethan is listing along after a breakup. However, lady luck gives them a way into the party, though madcap events hamper them along the way.
Said madcap events produce three separate sub-plots aside from the main quest. We’ve got Isaac stoned out of his mind courtesy of a small cornucopia of drugs gifted by his swearword-loving wife Betsy (Jillian Bell), Chris attempting to win the respect of his teammates and Ethan trying to win back the lost love of ex-girlfriend Diana (Lizzy Caplan).
However, as chaotic as “The Night Before” is, these sub-plots are well-balanced, easy to follow and complement the main story well, even if they drift a little far from it. They serve up scenes such as Isaac’s drug-induced paranoia combined with Jewish guilt in a midnight Catholic Mass that put me in chest pains from laughter.
With the humor, you’ll get a range of laugh-out-loud moments with most executed at a steady pace. The running gags, such as Isaac’s constant state of drug inducement (and the havoc that it causes) and the weed-dealing voice of reason Mr. Green (Michael Shannon) don’t overstay their welcome and support the overall story.
This also works for the more dramatic and personal bits, such as Chris’ avoidance of his mother during the holiday. In short, the film flows from humor to dramatis without missing a beat, and we get a fair amount of character development out of it.
And since this is Seth Rogen flick, we get a semi-ensemble cast with cameos, such as Mindy Kaling, Ilana Glazer, Miley Cyrus (for some reason) and… yeah, James Franco as James Franco (because it’s always James Franco as James Franco).
My only caveat with “The Night Before” comes with a bit of a spoiler warning. The ending is so damn sweet that it’s akin to eating a bunch of white chocolate with no water for miles. Everything is forgiven within the span of a few in-film hours, which gives a slightly rushed feeling to it all. That said, it’s not a bad ending by any means. Just rushed.
Still, “The Night Before” is definitely a treat away from the usual falling Christmas tree, drunk uncle, burnt dinner clichés that populate corny holiday movies. It keeps its sub-plots well balanced, humor loose and paced, and ends well with the lone problem of solving things a bit too quickly. It’s definitely worth a watch and is another positive in Rogen’s corner. See it.
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