Rough Night

Is very refreshing to watch Scarlett Johansson in such a role. Reason being why I decide to watch this film. The first 20 min of the film did threw me off; after that it got better. Why? because there was actually a plot, now you got my attention.

Overall an OK comedy film. Please don't expect that much. I will suggest this film if you want to get some laughs and you want to kill some time.

Bachelorette parties, a sacred ritual to help a young woman transition from single life into the world of marriage. Of course, like most things, modern traditions have adulterated with new traditions and rituals that leads for a rather "exciting" night. So why not make another movie about it. Tonight, my friend and I hit the theater to cover the latest comedy to "grace" the big screen entitled Rough Night! What does this obviously titled film have in store for us? As always, please read on to find out and help determine whether or not it is worth your money to hit the theater.

So what do you get? For once the trailers were pretty spot on with their portrayal of this movie. Rough night is a very raunchy, simplistic, and over the top comedy that has little sustenance outside of the attempt at humor. It's ridiculousness at times is clever, but these moments are few and far between, buried under the comedy rubble that fills this movie. Aggressive innuendos come rushing out of the woodwork, many delivered in the overdramatic manner that somehow seems to be popular and entertaining to many. The all-star cast assembled to for this film are okay, dropping their dynamic acting range for superficial roles filled with cursing and satire. Lazy writing also doesn't help sell the comedy factor, primary thanks to the consistent cursing, shouting of the male genitalia, overzealous drug use, and cringe worthy catchphrases. Kate Mickinnon is able to salvage some parts of the film with her usual tricks, working the Australian accent with her pizazz and spot-on timing.

Story wise, nothing special here. Rough Night's plot is about 80% revealed in the trailers and there is little surprise left for you in the audience. Some of the more adult moments will be the eye widening magic you are seeking, but again these are often awkward uncomfortable, or unnecessary. Still the movie's tale had some surprising character development and a nice twist thrown into the mix to help keep things dynamic. The morals hit close to home on some level, but again are robbed by another bout of stupidity. I know, you aren't there for the character developments and rugged plot, but other comedies have learned to balance things and that is where this movie fails.

In the end though here are my likes and dislikes:

LIKES: • Kate McKinnon • Good, upbeat soundtrack • Short Run Time • More dynamic storyline

DISLIKES: • Incredibly stupid • Excessive cursing • Aggressive humor • Trailers Ruined most of the movie • Inappropriate at many times • Shallow story • Annoying characters • Dropped plots • Overacting • Limited target audience

THE VERDICT:

It's nice to see a movie fit the expectations set by the advertising, but it's sad that this is a form of entertainment. Rough night fails to find balance and resorts to cheap parlor tricks known as adult humor. Sure there are clever components (primarily thanks to the boyfriend and Kate), but even they can't save the movie from the monotonous laziness that is to come. kWhy must it be overacted? I don't know, but nevertheless this movie failed on many accounts. Recommended audience members include bachelorettes, girls nights out, or fans of one of the cast. For the rest though, skip this movie until it darkens the library of Netflix.

My scores are:

Comedy: 5.5 Movie Overall: 3.0

This review Rough Night is spoiler free

*** (3/5)

IN 2011 THE box-office smashing Oscar nominated adult comedy Bridesmaids cemented down a shiny new pathway for some seriously funny ladies to take over comedy, and for years after women have proved that they too can hit all the right marks with hilarious dialogue, a crude attitude and naughty behaviour which normally make a hit in male lead comedies.

In writer-director Lucia Aniello's directorial debut Rough Night, seriously funny ladies lead a slew of penis jokes, nasty consequences, crude behaviour and a misjudged killing of a male stripper. When a group of friends reunite after ten years for a bachelorette party in Miami. There's Scarlett Johansson's Jess who is the bride to be, then there's Alice (Bell) she's the rudest of the group, next is Blair (Kravitz) who just joins in for the ride, fourth is Frankie (Glazer) who is the dopest of the group and finally there's Kate McKinnon's Pippa who's Jess' new friend from Australia. Its big name cast who give the film it's nails from their hilarious quips for which McKinnon is the standout through their party attitude to their consequences and it's here when the film shines. The group hire a male stripper, which bodes well for them for a while but when the worst happens they're brought closer together when it matters most.

It's rude, beyond the constant penis jokes rude; it's rude in its shock tactics too these aren't just the quick and cheap shocks that lead other comedies, here they're carefully planned which gives this a polish, there's a penis gift bag, a BDSM room and there's a hilarious section with a jet ski. It's relentlessly funny in these moments which thrive thanks to Aniello's and Paul W. Downs' top notch screenplay. Sadly it's a typically flawed venture for these women, as it suffers in its characterization there are only a few lines of story between them, though each of them have problems, Jess is struggling to make senate, Blair is in a custody battle, then there's Alice who always feels betrayed.

Rough Night isn't always funny either as there are a few jokes or shock tactics that fail to go beyond the planning. In addition it falls under a repetition strike too as some of the more shocking gimmicks play déjà vu particularly a body cover up sequence. However, despite this sudden drop this is still a still a seriously funny adult comedy which has carefully planned consequences and a funny big name cast.

VERDICT: A seriously funny comedy led by some hilarious ladies who handle self-consciously naughty set-pieces with a flawed yet polished flare.

Jess Thayer (Scarlett Johansson), Alice (Jillian Bell), Blair (Zoë Kravitz), and Frankie (Ilana Glazer) are best friends since college. They are going on a bachelorette vacation in Miami. Jess is getting married and running for state senate. They are joined by Jess's Australian friend Pippa (Kate McKinnon) whom the other girls have never met. Jess reluctantly does cocaine with her girls and it only goes downhill after the dead male stripper.

It's a relatively bland comedy until the dead stripper. Then it becomes tonally challenged. It's not dark enough. It's definitely not funny enough. Every passable joke is outnumbered by ones that go flat. The guys are duds and Peter doesn't need this much screen time. The girls should do better than this. There are some funny bits but not everyone is playing at max level.

Much better than Charlie's angels, and that got higher reviews. Think perhaps most of the low reviews on here are from the same people who didn't appreciate the all female 'ghostbusters'.