Director Jonathan Levine’s raunchy, drug-infused, holiday buddy comedy arrives on Blu-ray just in time to celebrate Christmas in March.
In The Night Before (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, rated R, $34.99, 101 minutes), Seth Rogen, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Andrew Mackie play Isaac Greenberg, Ethan Miller and Chris Roberts, respectively, best friends getting together one last time for their traditional Yuletide bender in New York City on Christmas Eve.
The trio ends up on a journey of excess, mixed in among a decent supply of family moments, culminating in a visit to the magical Nutcracker Ball.
The laughs keep rolling with surprisingly amusing moments tied to Isaac’s ingestion of various organic narcotics, some celebrity guest appearances and the fine work of Michael Shannon as the cannabis purveyor Mr. Green.
The digital transfer features some nice travelogue moments within the Big Apple during the holidays (Rockefeller Plaza and a beautiful church on the Upper West Side to name a few) as the sophomoric shenanigans of the pals attempting to find the party plays out on the frosty streets.
Overall, “The Night Before” is a firm fit between “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” and “A Very Harold and Kumar 3D Christmas” and worthy of a holiday, mature movie library.
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Additionally, a decent selection of extras tempts a potential purchase.
Mainly, they involve around 30 minutes of deleted or extended improvisation lunacy from Mr. Rogen and his comedic cohorts, with co-stars Lizzy Caplan and Jillian Bell contributing handsomely.
Especially worth noting is a hilarious, 4-minute dose of dialogue takes tied to Mr. Shannon’s outstanding commitment to the weed-inspired role.
Also, viewers get a 20-minute look at the production, loaded with good-natured interviews from the cast and crew as they talk about shooting winter scenes in the middle of summer and reminisce about the creation of a fun but not too outrageous Christmas movie.
• Joseph Szadkowski can be reached at jszadkowski@washingtontimes.com.
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