FilmSnobReviews

Title: The Night Before
MPAA Rating: R
Director: Jonathan Levine
Starring:  Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen, Anthony Mackie
Runtime: 1 hr 41 mins

What It Is: As is tradition three best friends Isaac (Rogen) Chris (Mackie) and Ethan (JGL) are celebrating Christmas together for what will be the last time. Isaac is nearing the arrival of his first baby and Chris, who is a football player, is just far too famous. Now Ethan may be stuck between not knowing how to grow up and not wanting to. In this magical of Christmases, these three gents will get an experience like know they’ve ever had before.

What We Think: This film is hilarious! There’s a ton of jokes that if you laugh too loud you’ll miss. JGL is just too damn likeable here and it really brings home the…well former relationship between him and Lizzie Caplan. She is quickly becoming a powerhouse in the realm of movies involving Seth Rogen and James Franco (who makes a brief appearance here) I really enjoyed her in The Interview. Overall if you’re a fan of director Jonathan Levine’s previous effort with JGL and Rogen 50/50 which we also went ahead and reviewed. Needless to say, the tone of this film is grossly different than the above-mentioned film.

Our Grade: B-, There is no doubt here that I’m going to recommend this film wholly. It’s a fun time at the movies that’s worth the price of admission. It is a Christmas movie which is a little bit late to the party. Something tells me however it’ll be a movie that we rewatch for years. It comes in like a wrecking ball and never lets you go. Kudos to not just the filmmakers but the Levine and his writing partner Kyle Hunter for making me laugh a whole lot. As I’ve spoken on before this is no easy task.