Review #997: 'The Night Before' (2015)

The premise of Seth Rogen's latest man-child comedy The Night Before, along with the casting of three of mainstream cinemas most likeable actors, may seem like catnip to fans of Rogen's previous hits Knocked Up, Superbad (both 2007) and 50/50 (2011). Yet while his best films cleverly and carefully toe the line between dick-jokes and genuine sweetness, The Night Before contains plenty of the former but previous little of the latter. It also falls at the first comedy hurdle by simply not being very funny despite some chemistry between its leads.

Best friends Ethan (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), Isaac (Rogen) and Chris (Anthony Mackie) have got together every Christmas Eve to follow a ritual and party hard, initially started as a way to help Ethan get over the death of his parents. Only now, with Isaac expecting his first child with wife Betsy (Jillian Bell) and Chris enjoying late superstardom in the NFL, they decide that this Christmas will be their last. While his friends seem to be happy and maturing, Ethan seems to sleep-walking through life, earning money from a degrading job and heartbroken following his recent split with long-term girlfriend Diana (Lizzy Caplan).

The most frustrating aspect of The Night Before are the frequent hints at the much better movie this could have been. The tender relationship between Chris and his mother, along with an expletive-laden selfie rant by a drug-addled Isaac freaking out at the imminent arrival of his child, prove only fleeting moments of sentiment and laugh-out-loud hilarity. Isaac and Chris both have potentially complex obstacles to overcome, but the movie deals with them routinely and thoughtlessly. And Ethan, admittedly played with an earnestness by Gordon-Levitt, makes for drippy company. Only the scenes between him and Diana provide any hint of spark to his character as the naturalistic back-and-forth between the pair make for a believable and likeable recently-broken-up-couple-who-still-love-each-other.

So without the charm of Knocked Up, the awkward brotherly bonding of Superbad or the heart of 50/50, The Night Before is reduced to little more than dirty jokes, drug-taking and celebrity cameos. The final destination for the trio is the illusive Nutcracker Ball, for which Ethan has snagged tickets. When they get there, its hard to see what the fuss is all about, and appearances from James Franco and Miley Cyrus - appearing as themselves and mocking their own tabloid personas - feel unnecessary and forced. An extended role for Michael Shannon, popping up every now and then as pot dealer Mr Green, is easily the best character in the film, but even his impact is reduced when director Jonathan Levine tries to over-explain him and introduce a fantastical element into the story. You can pull it completely apart, but the films main crime is that is simply isn't funny enough.


Directed by: Jonathan Levine
Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen, Anthony Mackie, Jillian Bell, Lizzy Caplan, Michael Shannon, Mindy Kaling
Country: USA

Rating: **

Tom Gillespie

Review #944: 'Inside Out' (2015)

A film will come along perhaps once every few years that has a profound effect on me to the point that I view the world slightly differently than I did before. Inside Out - the majestic and extremely moving latest effort from Pixar - is one of those films. Pixar's back catalogue is a stellar line-up of classics, with even the lesser titles having something going for them, but I believe Inside Out is there finest to date. It's a brave, emotionally complex story that will likely leave some children depressed and adults even more so, but this is mature film-making of the very highest order.

A girl named Riley (Kaitlyn Dias) is born into the world, and her mind instantly starts to develop her core emotions. Joy (Amy Poehler) is first to arrive and forms an instant bond with Riley. Soon enough, she is joined by Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Fear (Bill Hader), Anger (Lewis Black) and Disgust (Mindy Kaling), as Riley's personality begins to develop. Joy rules the roost during Riley's happy childhood, but as the years go by and Riley moves to a new city, the other emotions start to influence her actions. After a minor breakdown in front of her new classmates, Riley struggles to adapt to the changes, and Joy and Sadness find themselves whisked off into the deepest regions of her mind while the others struggle to steady the ship.

Pixar have never lacked visual imagination (they are the great innovators of computer animation after all), and they have worked overtime with Inside Out. What begins as a playful portal into the mind of an immature girl, the setting becomes more layered as she grows. Branches stretch out to reveal various aspects of Riley's personality, core memories are collected and stored in glowing spheres, and there is a literal train of thought that runs throughout the mind. The creativity is truly let off the leash when Joy and Sadness get caught up in the abstract thought region, and find themselves quickly morphing from a Picasso-esque form to two dimensional to nothing more than a straight line. The fearlessness of which directors Pete Docter and Ronnie Del Carmen approach the subject matter is one of the many endearing things about Inside Out.

Along Joy and Sadness's journey, they encounter Bing Bong (Richard Kind), a ridiculous amalgamation of cat, elephant and dolphin with a candy-floss torso, who turns out to be Riley's childhood imaginary friend. As she has matured, Bing Bong has slowly been forgotten, and spends his time watching old memories. Providing welcome comic relief as well as providing an insight into a more innocent and care-free time of Riley's life, Bing Bong may just be Pixar's most ingenious creation. Well aware that his time may soon be up as he is forgotten completely, he selflessly aids Joy and Sadness (as well as hindering their progress with his constant bumbling). He is an immensely loveable but ultimately tragic character, and Pixar gracefully avoids intensely pulling the heart-strings in favour of something more emotionally honest, achieving a harder gut-punch in the process.

If you go in expecting a cuddly family movie then you may be disappointed. The opening third is more interested in developing its vast, intricate world and developing the bond between the host and her emotions than delivering prat-falls and goofy voices. The human brain is a wonderful, fascinating place, and Inside Out revels in exploring its endless possibilities. It also teaches a thing or two about how we work by lumping Joy and Sadness together, two complete opposites of the same spectrum who could not exist without the other. Children's movies have always leaned towards pure escapism, a world in which true horror is either non-existent or easily defeated, but Inside Out shows us that its normal, healthy, and ultimately inevitable, to experience sadness. I don't like to throw the term 'masterpiece' around, but this is the closest Pixar have come to pure perfection.


Directed by: Pete Docter, Ronnie Del Carmen
Voices: Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith, Richard Kind, Bill Hader, Lewis Black, Mindy Kaling, Kaitlyn Dias, Diane Lane, Kyle MacLachlan
Country: USA

Rating: *****

Tom Gillespie