Review // The Night Before

[projekktor id=’22048′]

Good news, all the funny parts were not in the trailer for The Night Before. The feel good holiday comedy about a group of high school friends who, now in their 30s, are putting to rest their holiday tradition of partying on Christmas Eve is entertaining, funny and emotional.

I had been looking forward to the film from 50/50 director Jonathan Levine (which sees him reteam with Joseph Gordon Levitt and Seth Rogen) but the more promotional material that came out, the more I cringed. It looked like your typical Seth Rogen comedy – not to say it looked bad, just a little too frat boy skewing for my liking – but I was pleasantly surprised with The Night Before. Character development wasn’t sacrificed for weed jokes, cameos didn’t take priority over storytelling, and jokes weren’t delivered as overlong Apatow-style riffs. There was a story and character growth, hallelujah!

The task of getting to the biggest Christmas party in all of NYC actually propelled an interesting story of three men discovering themselves and accepting that their friendship needs to evolve just like they do. Gordon-Levitt plays the orphaned Ethan. After his parents died 14 years ago his two best friends Chris (Anthony Mackie) and Isaac (Seth Rogen) became his new family. But while his friends grew up – Isaac settled down and is expecting his first child with his wife Betsy (Jillian Bell) and Chris is a rising football star in the NFL – Ethan is a 33-year old cocktail waiter with little prospects for his future. Realizing he’s the one being left behind he clings to this tradition to keep his family intact. Chris and Isaac are finding being family means making some tough calls, including confronting Ethan’s self-destructive behaviour, but that’s not easy when they are dealing with their own struggles.

Rogen, Mackie and Gordon-Levitt lead an all-star comedy cast who are all on top of their game. Jillian Bell gives a perfectly understated yet hilarious performance as the straight woman to Rogen’s drugged up Isaac, while Lizzy Caplan plays Ethan’s long lost love interest. There’s a supporting cast that includes a who’s who of comedy stars including Ilana Glazer (Broadcity), Nathan Fielder (Nathan For You) and Mindy Kaling plus an incredible comedic turn from Michael Shannon.

The Night Before is the perfect mix of nostalgia, hip-hop and comedy and may very well be a modern Christmas classic.

Reviewed by Vithiya Murugadas.