BLINK MOVIES UPDATES
MOVIE REVIEW
THE NIGHT
BEFORE
T
he Night Before opens with a literal
Christmas tale storybook animation,
narrated by Tracy Morgan in a way only he
can. We learn of three best friends—Ethan
(Joseph Gordon-Levitt), Isaac (Seth Rogen)
and Chris (Anthony Mackie)—who have been spending
Christmas Eve together for over a decade, since Ethan
lost his parents, doing their best to have as much fun
as possible acting mostly like idiots.
Blowing up snowmen, getting high and going to look
at the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree, singing
“Christmas in Hollis” at karaoke—they'll do whatever
it takes to make this holiday more memorable than
the last, recognizing that emotions run high at the
holidays and trying to keep Ethan positive.
The annual event is straining under the reality of adulthood.
Isaac has a loving wife (Jillian Bell), who is well into her third
trimester. He's about to be a father for the first time—there
can be no more holiday debauchery. Chris is dealing with a
different issue altogether, having a breakthrough season on the
football field, although he's been using steroids to do so,
recognizing that a 34-year-old athlete is past his prime. He also
seems more concerned with his social media following than his
real life. Meanwhile, Ethan is recently split from Diana (Lizzy
Caplan), a girl who finally showed him the door after he kept
refusing to meet her parents. He not-so-secretly wants her
back.
Two events define the trajectory of “The Night
Before”—Ethan stumbles upon tickets to a legendary NYC
holiday party known as “The Nutcracker Ball,” while Isaac's
wife gives him a box of drugs to enhance the evening's insanity.
Nathan Fielder (“Nathan For
You”) pop up in cameos, and
Miley Cyrus appears late in
the piece in a very funny
scene to remind us all that
“Wrecking Ball” is a perfect
pop song.
Several of the “bits” within
“The Night Before” fall
surprisingly flat. Mindy Kaling
is wasted as Diana's best
friend, and a scene in which
Isaac's nose drips “cocaine
blood” into her drink is
horribly unfunny. Another
scene late in the piece in
which Ethan picks a fight with
a couple of drunk guys
dressed as Santa Claus also
simply doesn't work. One
wonders if the piece didn't
need another rewrite, or if
Levine, who has shown solid
dramatic chops with “50/50,”
was the right fit for this kind
of “wacky adventure.” He
doesn't always nail the
comedic balance, especially as
Blink Digital Magazine Jan/Feb Issue No.2
39