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Review // Rough Night

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Rough Night is a comedy that this girl wants more of. A buddy comedy with five female leads, helmed by a woman who also happened to co-write it; I definitely want to see this movie. Lucia Aniello is best known, if at all outside the industry, for writing/directing/producing the comedy show Broad City. It’s no surprise that her feature film directorial debut features the same comedic tone as the show, although it opts for a slightly more extreme conflict.

Jess’s (Scarlet Johansson) bachelorette party is the perfect excuse for college BFFs Alice (Jillian Bell), Blair (Zoe Kravitz) and Frankie (Ilana Glazer) to reunite for a weekend of mayhem. It’s the first time in 3 years since the former floor mates have hung out as a group, and while they are excited, their relationships and stations in life have changed since their college days. Jess is running for public office, Blair is divorcing her husband and keeping it a secret from her college girlfriend Frankie, who is an activist that is currently in-between homes. Alice organized the weekend and was a little overzealous with the planning, attempting to optimize her time with her super-BFF Jess. Their relationship is tested with the introduction of Jess’s semester abroad roommate, Pippa (Kate McKinnon). After hitting some clubs in Miami, scoring cocaine and smoking weed, the girls are excited when the male stripper Frankie ordered from craigslist shows up. When they accidentally kill him, their friendship is truly tested as they try to dispose of the body and come clean about what’s happening in their lives and why they have all been so distant.

The characters aren’t always likeable (except for Pippa, she’s the best) and some of the jokes feel like they are explicit just for the sake of being explicit, but for the most part the film is funny, the premise is outrageous, and the comedy progresses accordingly. The stakes are high and they get higher (pun intended). The side story with Jess’s fiancé Peter (Paul W. Downs, who co-wrote the film) is a hilarious play on gender stereotypes as well as physical comedy (he spends a lot of his screen time in an adult diaper). The characters are all well developed; they have arcs, motivations, and experience growth. It’s a well written film. The only problem with the film is that it feels a lot like television. It’s a little too formulaic as far as plot and friendship conflicts go. There is also a clear attempt to be super politically correct while telling off colour jokes. The biggest disappointment from the film is that it lacked those jokes that infiltrate pop-culture. There was no “I Love Lamp” or “You go Glen Coco” or “What is this? A Centre for Ants?”. I hope I’m mistaken though, and we’ll see a generation decorate their college dorm rooms with Rough Night one liner posters.

Rough Night is a perfect summer drive-in flick, so get your friends together and check it out. Sure, it has its flaws, but despite relying on cliches, it still does an incredible job of challenging gender roles in mainstream media. I want to see more films like it.

Reviewed by Vithiya Murugadas.