Related News
Xmas cheer with ‘The Night Before’
Print Edition
BOOSTED by its stellar cast and playful take on “A Christmas Carol,” “The Night Before” is a coming-of-age stoner-buddy comedy laced with warm holiday cheer.
Make no mistake: it’s still a silly romp thick with dope smoke and dumb jokes, but the performances are solid, and there’s some surprising sentiment behind the wacky antics. Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen and Anthony Mackie play best friends bidding farewell to their 10-year tradition of partying together on Christmas Eve. Ethan (Gordon-Levitt) is determined to make their last night epic, especially since Chris (Mackie) is on a hot streak in his football career and Isaac (Rogen) is expecting a baby.
Isaac’s wife, Betsy (Jillian Bell), gives her husband a special gift in honor of his last Christmas Eve with his pals: a box filled with “every single drug in the whole world.”
Well, you can imagine how things go from there. Isaac dips into the stash as soon as they leave the house. Rogen is predictably over the top as he samples each substance, falling deeper and deeper into a delusional haze. This presents ample opportunity for gross-out moments, like when he barfs in church or lets his nose bleed into a woman’s martini.
Meanwhile, Ethan surprises his friends with tickets to the hottest party in town, the one they’ve dreamed of getting into since their holiday tradition began. But first, Chris needs to pick up some weed. (Somehow, Betsy left that out of the box.)
This sets the trio on their adventure, bringing them in contact with the mysterious Mr Green (Michael Shannon) for the first of several meetings. He introduces Chris to “the weed of Christmas present.”
Later in the film, the weed of Christmas past and future is smoked. Along the way, the guys meet up with Ethan’s ex-girlfriend (Lizzy Caplan) and her friend (Mindy Kaling), Chris’ mom (Lorraine Toussaint), and Rebecca Grinch (Ilana Glazer). Each of these actresses’ appearances is a little holiday treat that helps balance the dumb-guy debauchery.
Isaac maintains a steady level of wasted-ness throughout the film as he frets about fatherhood.
Chris documents his every move for his social media profile, but secretly feels his popularity may be coming at too high a price.
Written and directed by Jonathan Levine, “The Night Before” is a millennial coming-of-age story cloaked in a cloud of smoke. It’s a druggie comedy, to be sure, but a sweetness about vulnerability, honesty, friends and family cuts through the haze. Things may be tied up a little too neatly, but it is Christmas, after all.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
