Review of The Night Before (2015) by Jeff B — 10 Dec 2015

A practical gag gift that proudly serves empty calories as a holiday spread, The Night Before fails to amount to a Christmas classic but easily earns a spot as a fun stocking stuffer. At some many intervals, this movie feels like Deja Dude all over again. Indeed, save for presenting the gross-out bits in 3D, these sophomoric goings-on play out like the recent misadventures captured in its fraternity soul brother, A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas. For better or worse, it's also every bit as decent and forgettable as that flick. The truth is, every holiday season, moviegoers get gifted with early presents from H'Wood in the form of star-studded, dysfunctional family, Christmas stories. Even when they're not good, festive audiences tend to gravitate toward some (Christmas with the Kranks, Deck the Halls, Four Christmases, Fred Claus). The Night Before ends up to be much better than those pieces of coal, but ranks far below the undisputable Christmas classics (It's a Wonderful Life, A Christmas Story, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation).

In this R-rated comedy from, three lifelong best friends (Gordon-Levitt, Rogen, Anthony Mackie) set out to find the Holy Grail of Christmas parties in their native New York City since their annual tradition of Christmas Eve debauchery might be coming to an end.

Okay, holiday hijinks ensue, as do life lessons. We all know the drill. It's the cast, however, that gives this R-rated sleigh ride an extra push. In casting Gordon-Levitt and Rogen, Jonathan Levine reunites the winning team behind his heartfelt cancer dramedy 50/50 and adds in Anthony Mackie (Avengers: Age of Ultron) for very good measure. Their characters almost amount to stock, but they genuinely seem to be having a good time...and not at the expense of audiences. Unless you're a total Grinch, it's easy to join in on the fun, especially with awesome Secret Santa cameos from Mindy Kaling, Michael Shannon, and Miley Cyrus.

Bottom line: Whee! Three Kings.