It's the night before Christmas, and the tradition that Isaac (Seth Rogen), Ethan (Jospeh Gordon-Levitt), and Chris (Anthony Mackie) share of going out on the town that night is ending. The tradition stems ten years back from Isaac's and Chris' attempt at cheering Ethan up after his parents were killed by a drunk driver shortly before Christmas. Now, Chris is a popular sports star who uses steroids, Isaac is married with a kid on the way, and Ethan is stuck in a rut. All but Ethan feel that they have outgrown their yearly night of drunken escapades. However, when Ethan stumbles upon tickets to a legendary Christmas party he and his friends have been searching for for years, it catapults the trio into the night to end all nights.
I really dug the emotional core of this film, which is Ethan having to deal with the loss of his parents (He never seems to have fully recovered from this loss), the fear that his friends are outgrowing him, and the fear of being alone. It's actually very sweet and touching. Needless to say, I also LOVED JGL in his role here. He is one of the best actors out there, but my favorite role for him to play will always be the normal guy. I wasn't head-over-heels in love with his arc, which involves him contemplating getting back together with his ex (played by Lizzie Caplan, who is given little to do. I still dug her here, and naturally she was beautiful), but having JGL in the film helps to elevate the proceedings a good deal nonetheless. I know I wouldn't have cared nearly as much about Ethan if JGL wasn't portraying him.
I also genuinely enjoyed Seth Rogen's Isaac. His arc mainly involves a small box of drugs including molly, marijuana, cocaine, and shrooms, which his wife (played by Jillian Bell, who is super cool and likable here) gave to him in a clear effort to help him face his own fear of becoming a father. For most of the film, Isaac is just trying to survive the night and keep his cool while attempting to fight off the aggressive effects of the drugs. This is the most likable and the best Rogen has been in some time.
Anthony Mackie is enjoyable as Chris, although he isn't given nearly as much meat to chew on as JGL and Rogen. That said, some of the best parts of the film are the few brief scenes he shares with Ilana Glazer (She's awesome here), who plays Rebecca, a cute Christmas Grinch who keeps stealing the weed Chris has been charged with delivering to the party. The two work off of each other to an impressive degree. It's a shame Glazer's character kind of just disappears somewhere in the 2nd act.
Michael Shannon was another one of the more awesome aspects of the film. He plays Mr. Green, the stone-faced drug dealer with a heart of gold. Shannon's job is essentially to be the Clarence (from It's A Wonderful Life) of the film, dishing out wisdom in the handful of scenes he appears in. He's absolutely perfect, and each of his scenes is gut-wrenchingly hilarious.
All my love for the film beside (and yes, if it isn't obvious, I do love this film), I do have a few tiny issues with The Night Before. First off, the film is bookended by narration from Tracy Morgan. I have nothing against him, but these parts felt kind of weird, wrong, and annoying to me. The overall plot of the film was also too reminiscent of your typical, predictable Christmas film (and sure enough, everything is wrapped up nice and neatly by the end). For such a clever film, I kind of wish they had found some way to liven things up a bit plot-wise. All that said, While the plot may be a bit predictable to how each character's story is going to end, the proceeding chaos and fun is more than enjoyable enough for anyone to overlook what little issues they may have.
In the end, the heart of this film lies in the chemistry between the three leads, the numerous LOL moments, and the touching story about friendship and love. The Night Before may not be a perfect film, but I'll be damned if it doesn't get pretty close at times. I would say it's definitely a new holiday classic. Pour some liquor in your eggnog and drink up!
4.5 STARS
Monday, November 23, 2015
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