• Consequence
  • Music
  • Film
  • TV
  • Heavy
Menu Consequence
Menu Shop Search Newsletter
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Features
  • Live
  • Podcasts
  • Videos
Advertisement
  • Reviews
  • Film Reviews

Film Review: Rough Night

It's ridiculous, it's all over the place, but hey, it's a fun time

C+

Directed by

  • Lucia Aniello

Starring

  • Kate McKinnon
  • Ilana Glazer
  • Jillian Bell
  • Zoe Kravitz
  • Scarlett Johansson

Release Year

  • 2017

Rating

  • R
Advertisement
Michael Roffman
June 15, 2017 | 1:10am ET

    Ensemble comedies are hard. They’re also risky. If the chemistry isn’t there, the film doesn’t work. That’s why so many ensembles feature casts that are cut from the same cloth. Or, at the very least, have some history together. But every once in a while you get a peculiar, unexpected mix, and it’s those that stick with you. Think about Todd Phillips’ Old School, and how the novelty of seeing Luke Wilson, Vince Vaughn, and Will Ferrell throwing college parties together made very little sense prior to 2003. Then, remember how lucrative it turned out to be for all of them. (Hell, the movie gave Wilson and Vaughn a new subgenre to play around in for nearly a decade.) Rough Night works in a similar vein by gathering up a motley crew in Scarlett Johansson, Jillian Bell, Zoë Kravitz, Ilana Glazer, and Kate McKinnon, and tossing them into a fairly unlikely situation: a stripper murder!

    Now, now, don’t get too worried; this isn’t Clue. The five friends simply run into a messy hiccup amidst their wild bachelorette trip down in Miami. The bachelorette in question is Jess (Johansson), a do-gooder and future politician who has Hilary Clinton’s hair and a spirited fiancee (Paul W. Downs) who enthusiastically opts to masturbate in the shower so she can keep focusing on her never-ending work. In other words, murder isn’t exactly an ideal accoutrement to her budding career. The good news is that the whole thing boils down to an innocent accident — the gang’s hyper-sexual friend Alice (Bell) topples over the stripper, cracking his head open in the process — and they simply need to dispose of the body, wash their hands, and move on with their lives. Easy peasy, right? Not exactly, as the hurdles keep coming and the frantic comedy boils over.

    You’re not alone if this premise rings a bell. Yes, it’s almost the same plot as Peter Berg’s Very Bad Things, but Rough Night never indulges in the bleak darkness that turned that film into an unstoppable nightmare. instead, the screenwriting duo of Downs and Lucia Aniello (who also directs) conjure up the firecracker humor of The Hangover and Bridesmaids and melds it with the screwball stakes of Weekend at Bernie’s and last year’s Keanu. As such, you never get a sense that anyone is ever in real danger, which is both good and bad. It’s good in the sense that you can rely less on the consequences and more on the situational humor, but it’s also bad because, well, nothing really matters. Things move at such a breakneck pace and the film is so tonally manic that Rough Night winds up feeling more like a series of vignettes than an actual movie.

    Advertisement
    Related Video

    That’s not exactly surprising. Downs and Aniello also work on Comedy Central’s outstanding comedy series Broad City, which stars and was co-created by Glazer, and part of that show’s power is its uncanny ability to use the narrative’s erratic ebbs and flows as a way to set the stage for the more prioritized situational comedy. Again, you never really worry what will happen to the show’s leads; you just want to see them go through it. That logic is all over Rough Night, but the difference is that a film isn’t as malleable as a series — there aren’t multiple episodes, only a concrete runtime. More importantly, a film has less agency with respect to tone and style than a series does. Where showrunners can tweak and experiment with the medium as the series evolves, filmmakers have to ensure that things gel from beginning to end. There are no second chances.

    So, yeah, Rough Night isn’t the sharpest movie, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a blast. With the exception of Kravitz, who’s unfairly straddled with the straight-laced role as Blair, each one of the principals has some fun with their respective characters. As the domineering Alice, Bell owns the random one-liners and asides, eliciting a number of double takes. As Frankie, Glazer plays a subdued version of her Broad City personality, only with more cocaine and a stronger conviction for social justice. As Pippa, McKinnon brings enough of her scene-stealing weirdness to distract everyone from the blatant Australian stereotypes she’s given. And, finally, as Jess, Johansson plays the necessary center to the film’s ensuing madness, and in doing so, proves why she’ll always be a choice host and foil for the cast of Saturday Night Live.

    Again, it’s a fun time, which is all Rough Night cares to offer. Sure, there’s an obvious attempt to turn this into something of a franchise — speaking of which, stay until the very, very end for a notable tag — but who cares? The cast clearly has a good time together, and if Downs and Aniello can keep cranking out original set pieces — for instance, all the “sad astronaut” material involving Downs or the out-there subplot featuring Ty Burrell and Demi Moore as swingers — more power to them. There are enough sparkles of ingenuity and enough chemistry in the bag to suggest that this team could easily have more fun with another go-around, and perhaps it’ll give Downs and Aniello a chance to sharpen things together. For now, enjoy the spontaneous combustion of an unlikely ensemble and laugh a little. Besides, Broad City doesn’t return until late August.

    Advertisement

    Oy, more like Rough Summer.

    Trailer:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Reddit

More on this topic

  • Comedy
  • Demi Moore
  • Ilana Glazer
  • Jillian Bell
  • Kate McKinnon
  • Paul W. Downs
  • Scarlett Johansson
  • Ty Burrell
  • Zoë Kravitz

Sign up for updates

Subscribe to our email digest and get the latest breaking news in music, film, and television, tour updates, access to exclusive giveaways, and more straight to your inbox.

Advertisement

Popular Stories

Robert and Toyah Centerfold

Heavy Consequence

Robert Fripp and Toyah Nearly Bare All with Cover of J. Geils Band's "Centerfold": Watch

Drake Misses Lollapalooza Brasil Performance After Being Spotted at Strip Club

Music

Drake Misses Lollapalooza Brasil Performance After Being Spotted at Strip Club

Advertisement

Introducing our first-ever CoSign artist collaboration! A Trippy Water Bottle that supports Charity!

Introducing our first-ever CoSign artist collaboration! A Trippy Water Bottle that supports Charity!

Jonathan Majors

Film

Jonathan Majors Arrested for Alleged Assault [Updated]

Lucille in Arrested Development

TV

Arrested Development to Remain on Netflix Through 2026

Latest Stories

What the Hell Happened to Blood Sweat & Tears

What the Hell Happened to Blood, Sweat & Tears? Review: For the Band’s Fans and No One Else

March 24, 2023

A-
Dungeons Dragons Honor Among Thieves Review

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves Rolls a Natural 20 for Fun: Review

March 20, 2023

C-
Shazam! 2 Fury of the Gods (Warner Bros.)

Shazam! Fury of the Gods Forces Flaccid Fun Through A Sea of CGI Nothing: Review

March 16, 2023

C+
john-wick-chapter-4-keanu-reeves

In John Wick Chapter 4, Brilliant Fights Are Less Than the Sum of Their Punches: Review

March 13, 2023

C-
65-adam-driver

Adam Driver Pouts at Dinos In the Shoddy, Somber Sci-Fi Thriller 65: Review

March 9, 2023

B+
Scream 6 (Paramount Pictures)

Scream VI Is the Fun, Thrilling Slash in the Arm the Franchise Needed: Review

March 8, 2023

D-
Children of the Corn (RLJ Entertainment)

Children of the Corn Review: A Rotted Husk of a Horror Remake

March 3, 2023

C-
Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre (Lionsgate)

Operation Fortune: Ruse De Guerre Is a Limp Spy Caper As Nondescript as Its Title: Review

March 1, 2023

Advertisement

News

  • Music
  • New Music
  • Album Streams
  • Upcoming Releases
  • Tours
  • Film
  • TV
  • Pop Culture

Reviews

  • Music Reviews
  • Film Reviews
  • TV Reviews
  • Concert Reviews
  • Festival Reviews

Features

  • Editorials
  • Interviews
  • Cover Stories
  • Lists
  • Guides
  • CoSign
  • Song of the Week

Live

  • Tickets
  • Festival News
  • Tour Dates
  • Photo Galleries
  • Music Instruments & Gear

Heavy

  • News
  • Interviews
  • Concerts

More

  • Podcasts
  • Videos
  • Wellness
  • Giveaways

Other sites

  • Heavy Consequence
  • Consequence Media
  • Modern Drummer
  • About
  • Privacy policy
  • Advertising
  • Work For Us
  • Terms
  • Contact
  • Copyright
  • Do Not Sell My Personal Information

Download our app

  • Get it on the App Store
  • Get it on Google Play
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitch
  • Tiktok
Consequence
Current story

Film Review: Rough Night

Menu Shop Search Newsletter
Consequence
News
  • News
  • Music
  • New Music
  • Album Streams
  • Upcoming Releases
  • Tours
  • Film
  • TV
  • Pop Culture
Reviews
  • Music Reviews
  • Film Reviews
  • TV Reviews
  • Concert Reviews
  • Festival Reviews
Features
  • All Features
  • Editorials
  • Interviews
  • Cover Stories
  • Lists
  • Guides
  • CoSign
  • Song of the Week
Live
  • Tickets
  • Festival News
  • Tour Dates
  • Photo Galleries
  • Music Instruments & Gear
Podcasts
  • The Opus
  • Kyle Meredith With...
  • Stanning BTS
  • The Story Behind the Song
  • The What
  • Going There with Dr. Mike
  • The Rome and Duddy Show
Videos
  • Interviews
  • Two for the Road
  • First Time I Heard
  • When I Made
  • Battle of the Bandmates
  • Peer 2 Peer
  • Essays
  • Fan Theories
Heavy
  • News
  • Interviews
  • Concerts
  • Premieres
  • Culture
  • Beyond the Boys Club
  • Mining Metal
Shop
  • Shop
  • Giveaways

Follow Consequence

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitch
  • Tiktok
Close
Close