Movie review: The Night Before

Anthony Mackie plays Chris Roberts in <i>The Night Before</i>. Photo / Sarah Shatz

The night Before reunites director Jonathan Levine with his 50/50 crew, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Seth Rogen, in a chaotic and raunchy comedy that takes place over one Christmas Eve in New York City. As Rogen's involvement would suggest, The Night Before is light on character development but relentless in its enthusiasm for making us laugh.

Anthony Mackie joins Gordon-Levitt and Rogen as three friends since childhood. More than a decade earlier Ethan's (Gordon-Levitt) parents had died in a car crash, with Isaac (Rogen) and Chris (Mackie) cheering him up on Christmas Eve by putting on terrible Christmas sweaters and taking him out for a night of drinking, karaoke and Chinese food.

It's a tradition that's lasted 14 years, but they've agreed it's time to move on and grow up. Isaac is about to become a father, and is terrified about it, Chris has become a famous sports star - thanks to steroids, and Ethan pines for an ex-girlfriend, is a waiter and a musician who doesn't like playing in front of people.

As they prepare for their final Christmas Eve together, Isaac launches into a box of drugs and Ethan steals three tickets to the biggest party of the night, the exclusive Nutcracka Ball. It's not the first time Rogen has played a drug-taking man-child, but all that practice has paid off - he's on fire, delivering laugh after laugh as Gordon-Levitt and Mackie struggle to keep up.

Watching these nitwits work out their issues and fumble their way through their evening is good fun, even when it gets gross. Levine does a great job keeping the characters in check - they make terrible decisions and teeter on being obnoxious, but for the most part they're easy to like and avoid being mean-spirited.

Some surprising casting keeps us on our toes. Miley Cyrus turns up playing herself, and Michael Shannon is brilliant as the boys' introspective and intense drug dealer, Mr Green. In a reference to A Christmas Carol, each friend visits Mr Green during the evening when, to their bewilderment, he offers spiritual guidance and shows them Christmas past, present and future.

It's not the only holiday film or pop culture reference - Home Alone and Big also get nods, and the boys encounter a Grinch or two. The Night Before works best if you lower your expectations and just accept its ridiculousness. You may be surprised at how much Christmas spirit is hidden behind the dick jokes.

Movie: The Night Before
Cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen, Anthony Mackie
Director: Jonathan Levine
Running Time: 102 mins
Rating: R16 (Sex scenes, sexual content, drug use and offensive language)
Verdict: A ridiculous but funny Christmas romp