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Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen and Anthony Mackie as three thirtysomethings on one last Christmas bender, The Night Before delivers a predictable but enjoyable series of gags worthy of ringing in the festive season.
Gordon-Levitt plays Ethan, an aimless grown man who lost his parents as a teenager and has since spent every Christmas with his best buds, family-man Isaac (Rogen) and NFL star Chris (Mackie). But now “Chris is just too f***ing famous to hang out” and “Isaac’s about to have a baby”, so the trio decide to end their Christmas tradition with one last epic night out.
While the film follows the intertwining stories of all three men, Gordon-Levitt’s Ethan is certainly written in as this film’s main character. That said, Rogen steals the show because, while the three actors all deliver solid performances, Rogen is the comic genius. Co-stars Michael Shannon, Lizzy Caplan, Mindy Kaling and Jillian Bell (the latter is particularly funny in the limited screen time her character receives) all give solid performances, however the female characters are really only there to back up and propel the men’s storylines. Stars including Miley Cyrus and James Franco also make cameos.
The Night Before is worth a watch if you’re after some easy-to-watch entertainment this festive season. The film is certainly not breaking new ground and it delivers exactly what you expect going in, but who’s not up for some drug-fuelled, politically-questionable holiday fun at this time of year?
