#REVIEW: “ROUGH NIGHT”

Five women who have been friends since college reunite for a bachelorette party in Miami. There’s cute pics, a foam party, pizza and a stripper planned. What could go wrong? In Rough Night, apparently everything!

Fans of Broad City‘s bold-flavoured comedy will feel right at home here with one of the Writers and Directors of the popular series, Lucia Aniello handling the direction and co-writing the script. The story centers on Jess (Scarlett Johansson) who along with her political aspirations, is soon set to marry fiancé Peter (Paul W. Downs, the Film’s other Co-Writer). While things start off on a lighter note, slowly unresolved issues creep to the surface between longtime gal pals Blair  (Zoë Kravitz), Frankie (Ilana Glazer), Pippa (Kate McKinnon) and Alice (Jillian Bell). 

Along the way, the ladies accidentally kill who they believe to be their hired stripper. Caught in a paralyzing panic, the ladies are unable to decide what to do with the corpse, fearing the repercussions. And while trying to dispose of the dead body, they not only are faced with the dilemma of hiding the evidence, they must cope too with their own unresolved issues as all the while this ill-fated bachelorette self-implodes. Add to that, Peter is convinced that Jess is about to call off their wedding and must find his way to her in Miami to convince her to stay even if it means wearing adult diapers, being a Squeegee Kid and downing a case of Red Bull.

Rough Night completely is implausible and ridiculous. While this often is the case with over-the-top and raunchy comedies, its characters are so deeply self-absorbed that it is challenging for us to stay invested in their sticking together through thick and thin. While tonally the Film wants to be comically clumsy, it isn’t quite clumsy enough to be entirely funny as it dwells much in bickering and worry so much that we forget at times that it is supposed to be fun. That being said, Kate McKinnon in her best Australian accent, carries much of the humour here with some semblance of likability. All too brief appearances from Ty Burrell and Demi Moore as the lustiest neighbours seen on-screen in recent memory, provide another glimmer of light in this too dark a comedy.

That being said, the Film’s final act gets a bit more interesting with a plot twist that sees Jess transform into an action hero and guns cocked, with cars crashing through doors. Completely over-the-top yes, but perhaps what the Film should have committed to all the way. Rough Night has many elements of a fun girls’ night out, but is it a memorable one?

Sony Pictures Canada release ROUGH NIGHT Friday, June 16, 2017.