Review: The Night Before

The message may be familiar and the execution formulaic, but The Night Before brims with fanciful anarchy and the immeasurable charms of its very talented cast.

The expositional but zippy prologue establishes the back story: Ethan Miller (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) was orphaned after losing both his parents in a car accident before the holidays. His high school buddies, Isaac Greenberg (Seth Rogen) and Chris Roberts (Anthony Mackie), raise his spirits by vowing that Christmas is now all about friendship and fun. They create a new holiday tradition of donning Christmas sweaters, playing the piano at FAO Schwartz, performing karaoke, and generally having drunken fun. As the years pass, the fun begins to wane as Isaac and Chris take on more adult responsibilities, the former settling down with his wife Betsy (Jillian Bell) whilst the latter focuses on his football career.

The film takes us to Christmas Eve in the present day as Isaac and Chris take on their most serious responsibilities thus far. Isaac and Betsy are about to have a baby; Chris is blowing up on social media and is on the verge of being accepted by his more famous football colleagues. Ethan, meanwhile, is lamenting the loss of his girlfriend Diana (Lizzy Caplan) and still conceptualising the concept album that doesn't seem like it will ever come into existence. In an attempt to get Ethan to grow up, Isaac and Chris decide to discontinue their annual holiday tradition. This year will be the last and a Christmas miracle occurs: Ethan discovers three tickets to the elusive and exclusive Nutcracka Ball, the Holy Grail of holiday parties, and all signs point to their last Christmas Eve debauch being the best one ever.

Naturally, things don't quite go according to plan, though everything that happens reinforces the power of friendship and the eventual transition from stunted man-child to full-fledged adult for each of the trio. For starters, drugs are in the mix - whether in the form of the box of narcotics given to Isaac by Betsy, or the ones they keep purchasing from Mr. Green (Michael Shannon, deploying his morose intensity to fine comic effect), their old high school dealer who also serves as father figure and guardian angel. The Night Before owes much to both Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol and Bill Murray's Scrooged. Their limo driver (Nathan Fielder) harks back to Scrooged's David Johansen. All three friends get individual glimpses of their past, present and future. It may not be original, but the concept is cleverly and sparingly done.

The Nutcracka Ball sequence isn't as climactic as it should have been. Neither is the Miley Cyrus "Wrecking Ball" scene, but Gordon-Levitt's puppy dog charisma really sells the moment. In fact, The Night Before is predominantly powered by its sparkling cast, which also includes Mindy Kaling and Ilana Glazer. The women may be this side of underused but all bring refreshing doses of liveliness, warmth and humour to the proceedings. Gordon-Levitt and Mackie are great, but Rogen is the undisputed highlight as the straitlaced soon-to-be dad who hilariously goes through quite a drug-fueled trip.

Rogen is so exceptional that he frequently threatens to hijack the film, but the camaraderie between the three leads keeps the film on track. Nevertheless, once Rogen's Isaac gets the drugs in his system, Rogen's performance pushes The Night Before to some, pardon the pun, amazing highs. His video plea to his future self - "Do NOT have this baby!" - is not only funny, but is the first crack in the facade of a man who has been nothing but a rock for Betsy, who frets about being a good mother. His anxieties about parenthood (as well as being a Jew married to a Gentile) hit a deliriously weird peak during midnight mass, where he hisses at a baby he imagines has been cursing him. There's also an uproarious sequence where he engages in a text conversation with a stranger who sends him a picture of his penis, and seriously considers performing oral sex with said stranger.

Rogen truly outdoes himself in this film. Perhaps it's no accident that his Christmas sweater is emblazoned with an unmissable Star of David for Rogen is the brightest star in this most entertaining film and its absolute comic messiah.

The Night Before

Directed by: Jonathan Levine

Written by: Jonathan Levine, Kyle Hunter, Ariel Shaffir, Evan Goldberg

Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen, Anthony Mackie, Michael Shannon, Jillian Bell, Lizzy Caplan, Mindy Kaling, Ilana Glazer, Tracy Morgan, Aaron Hill, Lorraine Toussaint, James Franco, Nathan Fielder