Seth Rogen and Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s anticipated reteam with 50/50 director Jonathan Levine has been alternately referred to as “Untitled Xmas Comedy,” “Xmas” and “Untitled Christmas Comedy” over the past year, but the project’s actual title has finally been revealed: The Night Before.
Rogen and Gordon-Levitt, who played a goofball and his cancer-stricken best friend for Levine in what was one of the finest dramatic comedies in many years, are toplining the Christmas season comedy alongside Captain America: The Winter Soldier‘s Anthony Mackie. All three play childhood best friends who reunite for one last night of debauchery on Christmas Eve before they admit they’ve aged out of their wild-partying habits. Aiming to make this the most memorable evening of their lives, the trio scour the city for the Nutcracka Ball – that most notorious of Christmas ragers.
All things considered, this is a far more mainstream venture than the bittersweet 50/50, but letting Levine collaborate again with Rogen and Gordon-Levitt can’t be anything but a great idea. Levine, who was also one of the contenders for the Spider-Man reboot, is particularly good at blending humor and heart, so audiences should expect some holiday cheer along with the hilarity.
The Night Before is also gifted with a terrific lineup of supporting actors, including Masters of Sex‘s Lizzy Caplan, 22 Jump Street‘s Jillian Bell, Inside Out‘s Mindy Kaling, Orange is the New Black‘s Lorraine Toussaint, Kanye West (????) and Take Shelter‘s Michael Shannon (here’s hoping that Shannon gets to bite into the role of a hard-nosed antagonist).
Columbia Pictures is ramping up to unveil the first trailer for The Night Before, which opens November 25.
Ethan (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), Isaac (Seth Rogen) and Chris (Anthony Mackie) have been friends since childhood, and for a decade, their yearly Christmas Eve reunion has been an annual night of debauchery and hilarity. Now that they’re entering adulthood, the tradition is coming to an end, and to make it as memorable as possible, they set out to find the Nutcracka Ball – the Holy Grail of Christmas parties.