We are now in the midst of November which means one thing … Christmas. It’s right around the corner; well, not really, but that is what the pop-culture landscape seems to be thinking. As soon as Halloween ends, we throw out the horror flicks and start watching Christmas movies. In fact, there are several heading to your neighborhood box-office and one in particular wants to be the wildest and raunchiest of them all. The only problem … it isn’t.

“The Night Before” comes to us from the same guys that made “This Is the End,” “Neighbors” and “The Interview,” including Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg. The plot revolves around three friends (Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Anthony Mackie and Rogen) who unite for one last night of debauchery after deciding to end their Christmas tradition of drinking and partying. They make their way through the streets, bars and back alleys of New York in search of the ultimate Christmas party and get into many merry misadventures along the way.

Each friend seems to be going through their own type of crisis. Gordon-Levitt’s character struggles to accept that this tradition, that was put in place after the death of his parents, is coming to an end while also chasing after an old flame (Lizzy Caplan). Mackie’s character, now an NFL superstar, yearns to join the other star players in their own Christmas festivities, while Rogen battles his own fear of becoming a father. Only one of these plot threads actually makes for a compelling and hilarious story line, that being Rogen’s part.

In fact, nearly every moment of laughter comes from Rogen. His character stumbles through the movie, wearing a Jewish themed sweater and high on an aggressive mix of cocaine and shrooms. Looking like a deranged grizzly bear, he enters every scene with an aggressive edge of physical comedy similar to that of John Belushi. But there is a real fear bellowing underneath that makes his character more well-rounded than the rest. It’s a fear of becoming an adult and not living up to adult responsibilities. This same idea was explored in “Neighbors” without becoming too heavy of a plot thread. The addition of these elements adds a certain depth and reliability to these movies.

Gordon-Levitt and Mackie hardly garner any laughs with Gordon-Levitt in particular given almost nothing to do. However, what may be most surprising is the tameness with which the movie unfolds. Only a few of the scenes with Rogen actually nail that kind of wild zaniness that was seen in “This Is the End” and “Neighbors.” Even “The Interview,” which I did not like, had some of that absurdness that made you believe any kind of outlandish situation could happen. The movie becomes this never-ending tease for something outlandishly fun that never seems to come. After all, if you’re going to make the king of all R-rated Christmas movies, go all out. But alas, that moment never comes. “The Night Before” is a largely forgettable experience that only produces a handful of actual laughs.

Rating: 2/5

Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures