The Night Before (2015)
Directed by Jonathan Levine
In New York City for their annual tradition of Christmas Eve debauchery, three lifelong best friends set out to find the Holy Grail of Christmas parties since their yearly reunion might be coming to an end.
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What critics compared The Night Before to
As a film that celebrates the holiday classics that came before it – there’s loving nods to Home Alone , A Christmas Carol, and How the Grinch Stole Christmas – Levine’s film is more rooted in telling a story of friendship over stitching together nonsensical comedic scenarios.
The true spirit of Christmas is challenged at every turn – meanwhile, homage is paid to all the festive perennials you can think of, including Die Hard , Home Alone and The Grinch .
But, as we said, the film is about the men, and Gordon-Levitt, Rogen, and Mackie make an odd but appealing trio, weaving their way through their own weird Christmas traditions and a series of wacky obstacles worthy of Adventures in Babysitting or even Home Alone.
The Home Alone score’s in there for some flavor.
Our guys have a long journey ahead of them, full of callbacks to their beloved Christmas stories: the Grinch, Home Alone, and most importantly, Scrooge.
With nods to holiday films like "Home Alone," "Die Hard" and "It's a Wonderful Life," "The Night Before" knows exactly what it is — a movie to watch every year with friends, a plate of leftovers on your lap, your mood enhanced by tryptophan or ... something.
Every year, a new crop of Christmas-themed films arrives in theaters to help kick off the season, but apart from 2003’s awesome trio of “ Elf, ” “ Love Actually ” and “Bad Santa,” Hollywood hasn’t had much luck producing movies worthy of shaking up the usual rotation of holiday classics.
But it offers more than enough laughs to justify taking time out from TV marathons of A Christmas Story, and maybe enough, at least for younger audiences, to become a pinch-hitter each year when established classics like Elf grow too familiar.