‘Twas the month before Christmas, when all through the movie house
Teens and young adults were screaming, scared away the mouse.
The overpriced popcorn was spilled all over the floor,
Leaving a minimum-waged high schooler to carry out his chore.
I sat nestled in my $15 seat tired and dead,
With visions of Harold and Kumar’s Christmas and 50/50 in my head.
Awaiting to see what director Jonathan Levine (Warm Bodies, 50/50) has done,
I prayed for the best as the movie begun.
Isaac (Rogen) and Chris (Mackie) have Ethan (Gordon-Levitt) as their bae,
So they came to his side when his parents passed away.
On Christmas of all days, how sad,
But Isaac and Chris party with Ethan all through the holiday, how rad.
The trio partied every Christmas for fourteen years,
But now the holiday can’t be spent chugging beers.
Chris is a celebrity and Isaac has a kid on the way,
But Ethan doesn’t want to take responsibility and continue to play.
No matter; as all three decide
That tonight will be the last Christmas at each-other’s drunken side.
In a sea of weed and celebrity cameos, there’s a lovely tale being told.
And thanks to those talented actors, the jokes never got old.
The laughs served the plot well as our three musketeers embark
On a joy-filled bro bonding adventure that slightly missed the mark.
Ethan’s heart-wrenching tale is buried under R-rated antics,
Where the character believes the only cure is romantics.
Surprise! It’s another tale of “love is the only key”,
Forgetting the theme that unites the three.
It’s friendship ya dummy, isn’t that the point?
But that theme is treated as three guys just passing around a joint.
Our buddies separate frequently throughout the flick.
Chris is trying to find a chick,
Isaac stares at a picture of a dick,
Both of them leaving Ethan alone to decide his life quick.
It’s backwards considering the plot,
Where three friends come together for one last shot.
When the movie embraces this, it’s an absolute blast.
100% thanks to an exceptional cast.
There’s incredible chemistry between Mackie, Rogen, and Gordon-Levitt.
Each given a well-rounded character to the screenwriters’ credit.
The four writers may have stumbled with the heart,
But the rest of their work is great for the most part.
Characters are likable and there’s plenty of giggles,
Enough to make even the toughest bellies jiggle.
So even though the movie won’t go down in history
(frequently separating the characters is certainly a mystery),
There’s a lot of laughs in The Night Before.
Just don’t go in expecting anything more.
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