Movie Breakdown: Rough Night

Pre-Screening Stance:

There hasn’t been a single Rough Night trailer that’s made me blow air out of my nose, but I also haven’t seen anything that’s made me roll my eyes and sigh.  I guess this means I’m feeling like there’s a chance it’ll be good.  If it isn’t, something something about getting to look at Scarlett Johansson.

Post-Screening Ramble:

I was pleasantly surprised by Rough Night.  It’s essentially your standard party gone wrong type of R-rated comedy that has plenty of dick jokes, drugs, sex and all the other usual things, but what’s there is dialed just right.  This is especially the case with the cast, which is principally made up of Scarlett Johansson, Jillian Bell, Zoe Kravitz, Ilana Glazer and Kate McKinnon.  They not only have great chemistry and co-exist on the screen in a way that doesn’t just feel like a bunch of famous people constantly yelling, but each of them inject real personalities into their characters.  This means there’s not just one person who is funny or straight-laced or whatever, they’re all a little bit of everything, and this keeps the film (and its paint-by-numbers plot) feeling fresh since you’re never fully sure how any of them are going to react to something.

Look, I’m not going to tell you that Rough Night is one of the greatest comedies ever or anything like that.  It’s a solid movie that’s got plenty of laughs and some nice performances, and you could certainly do a lot worse at the theater this weekend.  I say give it a go.

One Last Thought:

It’s interesting to think about Scarlett Johansson’s career.  Way back in 2005 when she did Michael Bay’s The Island, everyone cried out in horror, and now people high five when she stars in stuff like Ghost In The Shell, Rough Night and all those Marvel movies.  Good for her.  I wonder where she goes from here, though?