Rough Night

Starring: Scarlett Johansson, Jillian Bell, Zoe Kravitz, Ilana Glazer, Kate McKinnon, Paul W. Downs, Ryan Cooper, Ty Burrell, Demi Moore, Enrique Murciano, Dean Winters, Bo Burnham, Karan Soni
Directed by: Lucia Aniello
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy
2017

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A group of women have a rough night when they come together for a bachelorette party.

Review:

Tim: Rough Night is not a very good movie. I feel bad sometimes for disliking so many comedies- I often ask myself if the film is as bad as I suspected, or if I have some weird comedy bias. With this film, there's no doubt in my mind- it's a poor movie. The basic idea has been done numerous times before, but it's a solid one- friends come together for a bachelorette party and things spin wildly out of control. This premise (switch it out for a bachelor party, or a vacation, or whatever) has been done dozens of times and in many cases, it works. It does not work here. This is an unfunny, bad movie and I feel no qualms about that.

The biggest problem here is that logic and realism are thrown out the window in an effort to elicit laughs. Why do the craziest, most unrealistic things always seem to happen in cheap comedies? We have characters acting in absurd ways simply because the writers think it'll create funny situations. It doesn't. It makes this movie feel fake and forced. There's nothing funny about poorly written situations and characters acting in ways no normal person would ever act. You can certainly have quirky characters, you can certainly create awkward or funny situations, but scene after scene here featured lazy writing. It was like everyone involved could see the movie poster or DVD cover- "Let's put a bunch of semi-famous actresses together and call it Rough Night and the women will flock to see it!" rather than trying to tell a truly funny story about real women. It's this half-assed approach that ruins so many potentially good films.

The cast around this weak film was not great. It makes sense to cast Scarlett Johansson in the lead role. She plays it mostly straight, which aligns with her strengths. She's the most recognizable name, the biggest star and the lead. I don't think this film required much effort from her, but I get the casting. Jillian Bell can be funny, but in small doses. She gets way too much screen time and you start to see through her. She becomes more annoying and one-trick than anything else. It eventually gets kind of sad. Zoe Kravitz was fine, although the jury is still out on how much talent she has. Kate McKinnon continues to baffle me- why do people think she's funny? She was probably less annoying than usual here, which is a sad compliment to give her. Ty Burrell and Demi Moore are fun to see, but they're wasted in pretty meaningless roles. Dean Winters continues to be cast in these exact roles all the time. It's a safe, somewhat boring casting choice. I always like seeing Bo Burnham and Karan Soni, but their roles are minimal. Really, the cast wasn't that much to speak about.

I suppose there are some decently entertaining sequences peppered throughout this film. The whole movie is fairly predictable and generic. It feels like no one was all that interested in doing anything special here. The film isn't really funny. Sure, there are a few nice moments, but discerning viewers won't find much to laugh about here. That's such a shame, because the central scenario is ripe for comedy. Unfortunately, the writers (and director Lucia Aniello co-wrote the film, so she is so much to blame for this) have no idea how to create believably funny situations. Speaking of Aniello, I know she's directed a lot of television, but she just felt like a C- level talent. I'd be shocked if she did something remarkable with her career. I know I'm judging by one film, but it felt like she had nothing to say here.

I know this film is targeted at a specific demographic (of which I'm not a part), but there's no reason they couldn't have put together a better effort than this. Women are so used to having crap peddled to them that I'm sure many will walk away from this movie having had a fun time. They deserve better and we deserve better than a completely average film like Rough Night.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend:
Bachelorette, Bridesmaids