Bromance, drugs, A-list cameos, a Top 40 musical number, more drugs and vulgar humor — this is not a Christmas movie for people on the nice list.
The setup is familiar. It’s the same basic formula for all Seth Rogen movies of the past decade. And even though it may have traces of “been there, done that,” it’s still highly entertaining.
The similarities to other Rogen comedies of late may cause those familiar with his work to dub it as just another, but surprisingly, the movie manages to take advantage of this generally clichéd genre.
“The Night Before” centers on three man-boys whose long-running Christmas Eve shenanigans are coming to an end as the realities of life begin to settle in. For years, they’ve been in search of a mysterious Gatsby-esque Christmas party.
Finally, they’ve gotten their hands on tickets and plan on giving their Christmas Eve crusades a grand finale in the form of a monumental night of drugs and partying.
The cityscape journey to reach this mythical bash takes them through various mirthful elements of their traditions — notably, a rendition of Kanye West’s “Runaway” on the giant keyboard at FAO Schwarz. Moreover, they also face challenges regarding the strength of their friendship.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt stars as an odd, lost soul who has reached his 30s and continues to rely upon the spirit of Christmas Eve with his bros to get him through the year.
He holds on tight to his perfect idea of Christmas Eve and continues to seek out the magic of Christmas to bring his friends together. However, this simultaneously places boundaries on the advancement of his own life.
Again, the movie doesn’t win any points for plot originality, but it does do something that few holiday movies have done before. The movie’s recognition and use of Christmas stereotypes for comedic advantage gives it the potential to break the romantic comedy trend that has come to dominate the genre.
While Gordon-Levitt’s character Ethan was sometimes painfully awkward in the movie’s main arc toward his independence, his romance with Diana (Lizzy Caplan) pokes fun at the idea of taking a significant other home for the holidays to meet the parents.
Despite the raunchy humor, the movie was able to pull at the audience’s heartstrings with references to Christmas classics. As the movie progresses, viewers are greeted with their own nostalgic recollections of past Christmas seasons with references to holiday favorites such as “It’s a Wonderful Life,” “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” and “Home Alone.”
This feeling of being stuck in the past is the same process that Ethan undergoes and is the source of his adversity. In order to get past it, he has to accept the limited ability of the Christmas season to be his emotional rock. The movie shows us that while the holidays do afford us some magic, life keeps going and we should look to ourselves and to our loved ones for magic in everyday life.
Through this message, the movie is surprisingly able to stick to the classic Christmas film tradition of touching upon heavy themes — namely, facing fears in order to live life more meaningfully.
While it may not be a movie for cinephiles or critics, “The Night Before” holds its own in a genre that hasn’t historically produced the most formidable content. It’s a welcome relief from the typical Christmas movie that’s been seen before.
Think of it as a potluck of the Christmas movies you know and love. While the plot may not hold too many promises, the virtues it has are its ability to take you in a whirlwind through your memories of Christmases past.
