The Night Before

Ever since his parents were killed by a drunk driver in 2001, when he was in his late teens, Ethan (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) has always spent Christmas Eve drinking, eating Chinese food, and carousing with old pals Isaac (Seth Rogen) and Chris (Anthony Mackie). But now they're all in their 30s. Isaac's wife, Betsy (Jillian Bell), is expecting their first baby, and Chris has become a famous pro football star/product pitchman. Ethan—an out-of-work musician who does cater-waiter gigs, often in costume—has just broken up with his girlfriend Diana (Lizzy Caplan), who left him because he refused to meet her family, although they dated for two years. So Ethan decides to make the guys' final holiday hangout memorable by scoring three tickets to a secret party they've always yearned to attend—a wild bash known as the Nutcracka Ball. Their boisterous adventure starts with karaoke and picks up once they run into Mr. Green (Michael Shannon), a philosophical pot dealer. Along the way, they interact with Mindy Kaling, Lorraine Toussaint, Ilana Glazer, and even James Franco and Miley Cyrus (who are gratuitously spoofing themselves). Writer-director Jonathan Levine relies on the easy camaraderie between Gordon-Levitt and Rogen, but this is a sloppy, repetitious, disjointed, debauchery-drenched tale of self-discovery. Narrated by Tracy Morgan, this holiday stoner comedy is an optional purchase. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include the production featurettes “Making One Epic Party” (21 min.), “Drunkest Santas on the Block” (5 min.), “Midnight Mass with Nana” (4 min.), “Whale Juice” (3 min.), and “The Spirit of Christmas” (3 min.), a brief gag reel, and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are deleted and extended scenes (9 min.), a “Christmas in the Summer” behind-the-scenes featurette (6 min.), a “Mr. Green O-Rama” outtake (4 min.), and a bonus UltraViolet copy of the film. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a disappointing comedy.] (S. Granger)