Rough Night (2017)
4:51 PM
The hangover will be the least of their problems.
"Rough Night" is the feature length directorial debut from Lucia Aniello. The film stars Scarlett Johansson (Lucy, Avengers), Kate McKinnon (Saturday Night Live, Ghostbusters), Jillian Bell (Office Christmas Party, 22 Jump Street), Zoe Kravitz (Divergent, Big Little Lies) and Ilanda Glazer (Broad City, The Night Before). "Things go terribly wrong for a group of girlfriends who hire a male stripper for a bachelorette party in Miami". "Bridesmaids", "Bad Moms" and "Girls Trip" have all been big hits with audiences, can "Rough Night" replicate the successful formula?
On paper, I love this type of film. I generally have a preference for female-led films and in recent years, I have really enjoyed female-led comedies. Bad Moms was one of my favourite films of last year, I liked the female reboot of Ghostbusters and I really enjoyed Girls Trip last month. When I first saw the trailer for Rough Night, I was on board but then the reviews came in and they were quite mixed so I lowered my expectations. However, I think that worked to the film's advantage as this film ended up being a very pleasant surprise. It was much funnier than I expected, with plenty of big laughs and some particularly memorable moments. Yes, it's cliche and formulaic and arguably has too much to say for its own good but all-in-all, I did enjoy watching it and would recommend.
Group-led comedies live or die based on the chemistry between the group of main characters. Especially for films like this which often have quite a basic and generic plot, it's the characters and their bonds that elevate them. Girls Trip, a very predictable and formulaic film is upgraded from that status by a fabulous cast who are having a great time and have a convincing chemistry- they seem like genuine friends. This element is what Rough Night is missing. Although most of the cast do a more-than-fine job, I just didn't believe them as a real-life friendship group. It definitely felt like a group of people a casting director had put together. The ladies give it a great go though so a convincing bond is formed, it's just not on the same level as the tightly-knit friendship group portrayed in Girls Trip. I also think it doesn't help that the plot for Rough Night takes quite a serious turn so isn't something that would tastefully be able to portray a group of great friends constantly having fun, they are in a very sticky situation. The film does abide by most conventions in the 'friendship-comedy' sub genre. For instance, Jess (Johansson) is given a card from one of her closest friends, Alice (Bell) towards the beginning of the film. Anybody who has seen enough of these films will know that Jess will not open that card until towards the end of the film where Jess and Alice have had some sort of fallout and the message in the card will remind Jess of the friendship she is missing. That is exactly what happens during the final act of Rough Night. Also, the typical 'best friend' vs 'best friend' dynamic is portrayed with the characters of Alice and Pippa (McKinnon). It definitely was not as memorable, comedic or effective as Kristen Wiig vs Rose Byrne in "Bridesmaids" but it certainly served its purpose and no film like this would be complete without such a dynamic.
Speaking of the cast, I believe everybody here gave it their best shot. Some worked much better than others though. The best lines and moments were given to Jillian Bell and Kate McKinnon who consequently elicited the biggest laughs from the audience. I liked both of these comedic actresses prior to watching this film and it was great to see them shine here. Bell had bigger one-liners but it was McKinnon's hilarious Australian accent and quirky characteristics that made her character all the more fun. One of my favourite moments was when Pippa injured herself from falling off the jet-ski so when she got up, she had one of the weirdest but also hilarious walks. It had me crying with laughter. McKinnon's facial expressions were also very funny- she definitely stole most scenes she was in. McKinnon and Bell may have been the MVPs but Scarlett Johansson did not make a fool of herself in the comedy playground. Naturally, she seemed like a fish out of water because comedy isn't the genre Johansson has become famous for but for the most part, Johansson is the 'straight man' to all of the other ladies' 'comics'. It would be unfair to say Johansson didn't have some funny moments but none of that was down to her, it was simply the lines she was given. Next up, Ilanda Glazer who played the stereotypical 'oddball' character type. I thought she did alright but she was certainly not my favourite character and she was possibly the most forgettable. Finally, Zoe Kravitz. I think they could have got someone better than Kravitz as she didn't deliver much comedy and her acting wasn't too convincing either. Kravitz seems to be on a different wavelength in comparison to the others- they're all having fun and not taking the film too seriously whereas it seems she is. The film also did nothing with her character's subplot which was weird as a big deal was made about it in the first act especially. The ladies mostly did a good job, what about their male counterparts? Paul W. Downs was ok. His scenes were definitely the weakest in terms of comedy as they distracted from the plot. It also didn't help that the relationship between Jess and Peter (Downs) wasn't that established so I didn't quite sense a strong connection between the two. The humour for Downs' scenes was also a lot dumber in contrast to everything else.
I've touched on the comedy already and I hope I've made it clear that Rough Night certainly delivers the laughs. Where I think this film goes wrong is that it makes very biased social commentary, especially when it came to politics. Even though I agreed with what the film was saying, I think it's come to a point where political views should stay out of otherwise harmless and light-hearted comedy films. Audiences didn't buy a ticket to see Rough Night to be preached about real world (particularly American) issues. I like films that provide social commentary but I like it when that is the film's main purpose and it actually adds to the plot and elevates the material. The social commentary in Rough Night just seemed shoe-horned in. It also doesn't help that the cast, Johansson in particular are very politically involved and express their views openly. With mainstream audiences, the film will already be receiving lots of prejudice because of its cast but the actual content is very similar to why the cast members lost some of their popularity. I want to emphasise that I agree with Scarlett Johansson's political views but I think it was the wrong creative choice to have political facts and commentary shoe-horned into a light-hearted comedy where there's no need for it. Unfortunately, Rough Night will offend viewers with opposing views. Films should be universal and unbiased. It was mostly Ilanda Glazer's Frankie who delivered this type of humour which could explain why I wasn't too keen on her character or performance. However, when Rough Night wasn't being political, it was being very funny.
SPOILERS
For a film with such a light tone, it did feel odd for such a serious event to be at its core. The film begins as the typical 'girls on holiday' story and then out of no where, the tone is flipped on its head as the plot gets quite dark. The writers do find a way to keep the material light and I'm thankful that it is revealed that the victim isn't just an innocent stripper or else the film would have been in very bad taste. As the plot unraveled and the ladies kept failing to disguise what they had done, I was questioning how the writers could wrap up the plot with a happy ending and the characters remaining likeable. The reveal/twist was right in my face the whole time! The guy wasn't the stripper after all and was actually a burglar on the run. The final scenes were quite exciting and I liked the way Jess handled the situation.
Rough Night is a funny film, you will definitely get your money's worth when it comes to the laughs. However, you might just get more than you bargained for as political beliefs are expressed in quite an explicit manner. Whether that be, Johansson's Jess resembling Hilary Clinton and being in a similar electoral race or Glazer's Frankie constantly mentioning topical and political subjects. If you're looking for a comedy film that provides escapism from such real world issues, try Girls Trip or Bad Moms instead. The story is a twist on a generic formula. There are plenty of cliches with the whole thing being quite predictable. The cast don't quite have the chemistry I would have hoped but they still work well together with Bell and McKinnon showcasing their excellence in comedy once again. I recommend Rough Night with caution as I think the political angle will turn some viewers off.
57
/100
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