The Night Before

Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen, Anthony Mackie, Lizzy Caplan, Michael Shannon, James Franco, Jillian Bell, Mindy Kaling, Tracy Morgan, Miley Cyrus, Jason Jones, Randall Park, Jason Mantzoukas
Directed by: Jonathan Levine
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy
2015

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Three friends (Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen, Anthony Mackie) prepare to retire their annual Christmas tradition with one final party.

Review:

Tim: I was looking forward to The Night Before because there was a lot of talent involved and we need more R rated Christmas films. Unfortunately, despite my anticipation, the movie delivers not at all. This is an unfunny, generic waste of time. Jonathan Levine wrote and directed the film, so a great deal of the blame has to fall to him- this is a total miss.

The biggest appeal of the film is seeing the trio of lead actors. I like Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen, and Anthony Mackie. If there's any pleasure derived from this film, it's seeing these three interact. Unfortunately, I never cared about their characters. They're totally unmemorable, even when we're supposed to have our heartstrings pulled. It just doesn't work. Gordon-Levitt gives a good performance, but his character is a bit unlikable. I never really rooted for his character. Rogen is funny, doing exactly the same thing he's done numerous times before. I can't fault him too much, as he clearly knows his strengths and was playing in his wheelhouse here. Mackie is a nice addition to these two and mostly gives a worthwhile performance. The acting is certainly not at fault- it's the unfunny, forgettable dialogue and actions their characters go through.

The supporting cast was decent as well. I like Lizzy Caplan, so I'm always interested in seeing her in a film. Michael Shannon embraced his odd side for his unexpected role. James Franco was a great surprise, although he wasn't as funny as they expected him to be. The rest of the supporting cast worked fine.

Now, when I say this movie is unfunny, I'm not suggesting it is completely devoid of laughs. There are a few funny moments here and there. It usually involves gross out humor, which I'm fine with. For every joke that hits the mark, there's half a dozen that just miss. I didn't laugh anywhere near enough. I wasn't especially entertained. This movie wasn't bad enough for me to hate it, but man, there's almost nothing to like, either. The movie doesn't quite know what it wants to be. It presents itself like a Christmas fairy tale, but this just doesn't work. Those scenes felt forced and detracted from the main story. There's just a lot of misses here.

I wanted to like The Night Before, but I really did not. This is the third Jonathan Levine movie I've seen. The first two (50/50 and Warm Bodies) were good. Not even close to approaching great, but were solid movies. This film is a far cry from those two. 1 hour 41 minutes is too long to sit without real humor and without truly caring about the characters. This is a bad movie and one I have no intention of ever sitting through again.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend:50/50, Warm Bodies