The Night Before (2015)

On Christmas eve, three lifelong friends spend the night in New York City looking for the Holy Grail of Christmas parties.

Director:

Jonathan Levine

Writers:

Jonathan Levine (screenplay), Kyle Hunter (screenplay)

Stars:

Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen, Jillian Bell

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Joseph Gordon-Levitt	...	Ethan
Seth Rogen	...	Isaac
Anthony Mackie	...	Chris
Jillian Bell	...	Betsy
Lizzy Caplan	...	Diana
Heléne Yorke	...	Cindy (as Helene Yorke)
Michael Shannon	...	Mr. Green
Mindy Kaling	...	Sarah
Ilana Glazer	...	Rebecca Grinch
Aaron Hill	...	Tommy Owens
Tracy Morgan	...	Narrator / Santa
Darrie Lawrence	...	Nana
Nathan Fielder	...	Joshua
James Franco	...	James Franco
Miley Cyrus	...	Miley Cyrus

Storyline

Ethan (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), Isaac (Seth Rogen) and Chris (Anthony Mackie) have been friends since childhood, and for a decade, their yearly Christmas Eve reunion has been an annual night of debauchery and hilarity. Now that they're entering adulthood, the tradition is coming to an end, and to make it as memorable as possible, they set out to find the Nutcracka Ball - the Holy Grail of Christmas parties.

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Plot Keywords:

christmas | christmas party | new york city | male frontal nudity | drug dealer | 

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Taglines:

The perfect stoner's Xmas movie.

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Fantasy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for drug use and language throughout, some strong sexual content and graphic nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 November 2015 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Night Before

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$9,880,536, 22 November 2015, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$43,035,725, 10 January 2016

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation,Good Universe,LStar Capital

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Datasat

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the limousine, Isaac, played by Seth Rogen, calls Ethan "Joseph." Ethan is played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

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Goofs

When Ethan, Iassac, and Chris are going to see Betsy in the hospital and they find Mr. Greens car you can see in the background where they did not completely snow the ground where there should be snow. This film was shot in the middle of August in New York City so all snow had to be created.

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Quotes

Mr. Green: We both know Miley was flawless.

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Crazy Credits

The movie opens with the 1981 Columbia Pictures logo.

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Connections

Featured in Late Night with Seth Meyers: Seth Rogen/Leslie Odom Jr./Travis Scott/Emily Armstrong (2015)

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Soundtracks

Get Down
Written by Dan Nakamura, Emily Wells and Lateef Dumont (as Lateef Daumont)
Performed by Pillowfight
Courtesy of Bulk Recordings
By arrangement with Terrorbird Media

User Reviews

A rather weird approach to friendship? Or friendship was just an excuse?

Seth Rogen is a rather intelligent producer. He and his pals (including Evan Goldberg, James Franco, Mindy Kaling, Lizzy Caplan, Randall Park etc.) have created an unusual semi-surreal kind of weird comedies, like "The interview" and "This is the end".

In The Night Before (2015/II) (because there is another (2015/I) movie with the same name in 2015 starring David Faustino!)...3 friends spend every Xmas together in search for a great party and having a good time. The dramatic element here is that one of them lost his parents in a car accident and the other 2 are trying to be supportive.

The problem is that this movie seems like it is designed to provoke, even shock. Trying to extrude laughter through harsh and dramatic situations without actually entering the limits of a black comedy.

Drugs and "tripping" play a major part in the movie. A tone of supernatural. And of course sex and relationships and friendships, the "bro" kind. Yet there are a lot to be desired and a major part of the film, although uneven, takes the lead and makes lifelong friendship to seem like it is just an excuse for some crude jokes like blood from a dripping nose into someone's drink or vomiting into a church during Xmas mass.

Overall: You wont be missing much if you avoid to see this. In the end, the basic idea of bro-friendship seems like an excuse from some surreal gags.