The Night Before [Blu-ray]

Director: Jonathan Levine Jonathan Levine

Overview

Every Christmas Eve for the last decade, best friends Isaac (Seth Rogen), Ethan (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), and Chris (Anthony Mackie) have reunited for a wild night on the town in New York City. But since the guys are getting older and have to face new responsibilities, their tradition is about to come to an end. As a result, they plan one last epic night together, which includes finding their way to a legendary party called the Nutcracka Ball. Lizzy Caplan, Miley Cyrus, Mindy Kaling, Jillian Bell, and Michael Shannon co-star. Directed by Jonathan Levine.

Product Details

Release Date:	03/01/2016
UPC:	0043396462861
Original Release:	2015
Rating:	R
Source:	SONY PICTURES HOME ENTERTAINMT
Region Code:	A
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	1:41:00
Sales rank:	24,529

Special Features

Blu-Ray Exclusives: ; Deleted & extended scenes; Midnight mass; This isn't your phone; Red Bull limo; Chris arrives; Mr. Green line-o rama; Christmas in the summer; Also Includes: ; Making one epic party: 20 minutes of on-set shenanigans; Cast gag reel; Whale juice: extended strip club scene; The spirit of Christmas; Midnight mass with nana; Drunkest Santas on the block

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Joseph Gordon-Levitt	Ethan
Seth Rogen	Isaac
Anthony Mackie	Chris
Lizzy Caplan	Diana
Jillian Bell	Betsy
Michael Shannon	Mr. Green
Mindy Kaling	Sarah
Lorraine Toussaint	Mrs. Roberts
Tracy Morgan	Narrator/Santa
Heléne Yorke	Cindy
Aaron Hill	Tommy Owens
Ilana Glazer	Rebecca Grinch
Darrie Lawrence	Nana
Nathan Fielder	Joshua
James Franco	Himself
Miley Cyrus	Herself
Kamal Angelo Bolden	Kamal
Baron Davis	As Himself
Chuck Muckle	Piano Playing Uncle
Curt Bouril	Cindy's Husband
Brooke Liddell	Cindy's Daughter,Cindy's Daughter
Jason Mantzoukas	Bad Santa #1
Jason Jones	Bad Santa #2,Bandleader/Drummer
Clem Cheung	Deli Owner
Harolyn Blackwell	Opera Singer
Randall Park	Boss
Natalie Knepp	Coat Check Girl
Cameron Earl Thrift	Singing Kid
Jeremy Vimes	Hunan Waiter
Gabriel Long	Karaoke Singer #3
Michaela Sprague	Isaac's Daughter
Euan Morton	Coat Check Patron
Marilyn O'Connell	Old Lady
Richard Hughes	Train Conductor
Theodora Woolley	Woman
Brett Weymark	Conductor
Mike Schmid	Keys Player
Theodora Miranne	Actor
Joseph Gordon	Actor
Jamie Arentzen	Guitar Player #1
Jaco Caraco	Guitar Player #2
Vashon Johnson	Bass Player
Julia Ross	Background Vocal #1
Danielle Elliott	Background Vocal #2
Kanye West	Actor
Marco Beltrami	Composer
Miles Hankins	Composer

Technical Credits

Jonathan Levine

Evan Goldberg

Kyle Hunter

Ariel Shaffir

Jonathan Levine	Director,Screenwriter
Evan Goldberg	Screenwriter,Producer
Kyle Hunter	Screenwriter,Executive Producer
Ariel Shaffir	Screenwriter,Executive Producer
Seth Rogen	Producer
Michael Bennett	Executive Producer
Nathan Kahane	Executive Producer,Producer
Joe Drake	Executive Producer,Executive Producer,Producer
John Powers Middleton	Executive Producer
Ben Waisbren	Executive Producer,Producer
Kathleen Driscoll-Mohler	Casting
Francine Maisler	Casting
Steve Ritzi	Stunts
Jeffrey Lee Gibson	Stunts
Steve Kirschoff	Special Effects Supervisor
Barbara A. Hall	Executive Producer,Producer,Executive Producer
Helen Thach	Special Effects
Airon Armstrong	Stunts
Neishaw Ali	Special Effects
Gregg Barbanell	Sound Effects
Chris Durfy	Sound Effects
Shaun Burke	Producer
Alex McAtee	Producer
James Weaver	Producer

Editorial Reviews

Every Christmas Eve, three childhood friends have honored their tradition of gallivanting and imbibing across New York City, a ritual that first began when a tragedy united them a decade earlier. After Ethan's parents were killed in a drunk-driving accident, Isaac (Seth Rogen) and Chris (Anthony Mackie) vowed to forgo their familial obligations and spend the holiday night together every year. Now entering their thirties, the trio have decided that this year's blowout will be their last go-round -- Isaac and his wife Betsy (Jillian Bell) are expecting their first child, and Chris, a professional football player, is experiencing a career resurgence that has led to a massive spike in his celebrity. Ethan (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is the only one whose life is still stuck in neutral; he's a failed musician who lost Diana (Lizzy Caplan), the love of his life, due to a fear of commitment. However, his lowly job as a cocktail waiter gives him the opportunity to steal three tickets to the Nutcracka Ball, the most exclusive Christmas Eve bash in the city, from a snooty patron. Since Ethan, Isaac, and Chris have been searching for a way to get into the elusive party since the very beginning of their tradition, this year's night of wickedness promises to be an especially unforgettable one. In addition, Betsy has bought Isaac a box full of drugs for the boys' night out (and he immediately eats the mushrooms she procured from Craigslist), while Chris desperately wants to show up to the Ball with a sack of weed for his football cronies. Thus, the trio contact their weed dealer from their high-school days, Mr. Green (a wonderfully out-of-character Michael Shannon). The peculiar, prescient Mr. Green has separate interactions with each of the men during a drug-fueled glimpse of their past, present, and future Christmases. Later, the gang's hazy trip to the Ball includes some Run-D.M.C. karaoke, a chance meetup with Diana, and a dick-pic cell-phone mishap. Some gags are huge misfires, but there are enough laughs here to keep the stoners' adventures afloat. The Night Before is also stacked with a litany of celebrity cameos, yet the results are a mixed bag. There are genuinely funny appearances early in the film by Nathan Fielder as a campy limo driver and Broad City's Ilana Glazer as a kleptomaniac holiday grinch, but the story gets bogged down by the arrival of Miley Cyrus and James Franco (the latter at his insufferable worst) toward the conclusion. While his racy, drug-heavy brand of comedy might not be for everyone, Seth Rogen has proven time after time that he can carry a movie. That being said, he's largely wasted in The Night Before as his character is reduced to a film-long psychedelic trip. The bit grows tiresome before even the first third is through, and it prohibits Rogen from really reaching out and taking control of the flick. Chris' self-obsession and lust for fame make him a flimsy character, although at least the seasoned Mackie has plenty of charisma to skate by on. That leaves the heavy lifting to Gordon-Levitt's Ethan, who is the only character here with any compelling depth. Ethan has never properly dealt with the loss of his parents a decade earlier, which is the impetus behind his clinging to the trio's Christmas tradition. Unfortunately, this potentially intriguing idea goes largely undeveloped, save for one touching flashback to the inaugural night when the gang first hatched their ritual of debauchery. Those misgivings aside, The Night Before is comfortable existing in the grey area of holiday fare between the crude and the overly sappy. The script (co-written by director Jonathan Levine, Kyle Hunter, Ariel Shaffir, and Evan Goldberg) is effective enough at finding a balance between those two extremes to make the movie worth revisiting at Christmastimes to come. After the kids are safely tucked in bed, of course.