Christmas movies are a tricky business — and that business is booming. Even if you’re not a devotee of Hallmark-style assembly-line cheer, streamers have picked up the slack left by studios largely ditching holiday movies, with a new assortment of big-star comedies and dramas all season long. But not all Christmas movies are created equal and, well, how can we say this diplomatically? Some people want to watch a real movie, even if they’re in the market for something seasonal. And some contemporary Christmas pictures feel more like they’re dragging big stars down to the Hallmark level, rather than elevating holiday tidings to the stars.
“Elevation” is not necessarily what comes to mind when you think of Seth Rogen. That’s not a knock on him; I even think he’d agree that his broad comedies, don’t have pretentious designs on elevating the art form so much as a desire to make comedy that’s true to his overall sensibility. Sometimes that works beautifully, as with Superbad or Neighbors; sometimes it’s less successful, as with The Guilt Trip or An American Pickle. It’s surprising how often his better movies have often been among his bigger hits. But this was not true with The Night Before, a comedy reteaming Rogen with Joseph Gordon-Levitt, which should have been a hit back in 2015, and should have become a holiday-rewatch perennial in the ten years since.
Why Watch The Night Before Tonight?
It’s not unusual for Rogen comedies to revel in a certain amount of party-hard debauchery. His career was built on guys being dudes in Judd Apatow movies like The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Knocked Up, which are predicated on guys in their twenties and thirties and, yes, early forties learning to push through their arrested adolescence and grow up (though not before treating the audience to plenty of immature antics). Jonathan Levine’s The Night Before puts a novel spin on the spectacle of grown adults acting like rampaging teenagers: It’s all part of a coping ritual.
The coping in question comes from Ethan (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), who lost his parents to a car crash at an early age. His lifelong besties Isaac (Seth Rogen) and Chris (Anthony Mackie) then resolved to spend every Christmas Eve with him, distracting from the sadness with a bunch of Rogen-style semi-hipster partying. A decade and a half later, the trio is still at it, but the tradition seems to be coming to an end. Isaac’s wife Betsy (Jillian Bell) is about to give birth to their first child; Chris has moved on to sports stardom; and Ethan seems stuck in a perpetual, misspend youth, worried he may have blown his shot with Diana (Lizzy Caplan).
A lot of what ensues is pretty standard bro-comedy-with-heart stuff: Friendships are tested and eventually reaffirmed. Funny women are alienated, then won back, without ever getting quite as much to do as you’d prefer. Cameos abound, both in character (Michael Shannon is priceless as a mysterious drug dealer) and with celebs playing themselves (Miley Cyrus, in what may be her best movie by default). But it turns out that Christmas could really use an injection of the post-Apatow Rogen formula; the match between holiday sentimentality and wacky antics turns out to be just the right mint-and-chocolate combination. Levine captures the excitement, magic, and, yes, seediness of spending the holidays in New York City, and Rogen’s particular drug-induced panic about becoming a parent are especially funny.
Gordon-Levitt is unfortunately stuck in more of the moping straight-man zone; he’s done two movies with Rogen in this mode (the other is the affecting cancer dramedy 50/50), and while they have chemistry regardless, it would be nice to see him allowed to get a little sillier. Still, he and Mackie are hugely likable, and this is one of those movies where everywhere you turn there’s someone fun to watch, from the central trio to Caplan and Bell to Mindy Kaling, Randall Park, and Jason Mantzoukas, among many others.
That chumminess is key to the movie’s success. So many holiday movies, especially comedies, focus on either spending time with family, or finding love. There’s a little bit of the latter in The Night Before, but the movie feels uncommonly lived-in for a broad comedy, especially in conveying the vital importance of close friendships as we age into families of our own. It’s the rare contemporary holiday movie that feels like it really should resonate throughout the year.
It’s the most wonderful time of the year! (At least, that’s what Andy Williams promised.) The holidays are a time to celebrate with family, friends, food, and, let’s not forget, fun things to watch. Whether you’re huddled up with the whole family in your living room or cozying up under the covers with your tablet, let Decider be your guide to all things festive this holiday season.
Jesse Hassenger (@rockmarooned) is a writer living in Brooklyn. He’s a regular contributor to The A.V. Club, Polygon, and The Week, among others. He podcasts at www.sportsalcohol.com, too.