Film Review: Rough Night
French aspiring writer and interviewer. TV shows and films connoisseur. Overpowered by curiosity.
At a time when women are taking power in Hollywood (Wonder Woman released last June, 20th Century Women in January or Star Wars Rogue One last year), Rough Night offers a one hundred percent female comedy with a decadent humor and boorish lines. This is a mix between The Hangover (Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis) and Bridesmaids (Kristen Wig, Rose Byrne) carried by a dull Scarlett Johansson who seems out of place. ComiConverse Contributor Elodie Cure has the official review.
This new comedy focuses on five high school friends: Jess, Pippa, Alice, Blair, and Frankie. In order to celebrate a bachelorette party, they meet in Miami 10 years after graduating. With copious amounts of alcohol and drugs, the celebration turns sour when one of them accidentally kills a stripper.
Credit: Sony Pictures Entertainment
Scarlett Johansson (Ghost in the Shell, The Avengers) stars as the bride. Johansson has proven her acting abilities in various Woody Allen films, but it is clear that comedy does not come naturally to her.
Alongside her, are many promising actresses: Zoé Kravitz (Big Little Lies, Divergent), Kate McKinnon (Ghostbusters), Jillian Bell (Angry Birds) and Demi Moore (Ghost). With many sexist and forced jokes, the movie never rises to meet the talent of its cast. In parallel to the central quintet, we follow the crusade of Paul W. Downs (Broad City, Time Traveling Bong) the overly-attached boyfriend who suffers countless humiliations while trying to find his girlfriend.
Credit: Sony Pictures Entertainment
Indeed, this comedy’s vulgarity is apparent. Trying for raunchy relevance, the film instead stalls out as a dull B-movie that forces A-list actors to deliver a litany of bad lines. The entire plot feels like it gravitates around the words “tampon” and “penis.”
Credit: Sony Pictures Entertainment
Crude and unappealing, Rough Night violently trips over itself. With a questionable sense of humor, it joins a long list of flawed, vulgar comedies. The director Lucia Aniello (Broad City, Time Travelling Bong) wanted show that women too can helm raunchy comedies. While she does that, the film itself is too unpleasant to be enjoyable.
Elodie Cure is a Contributor to ComiConverse. Follow her on Twitter @Elodie_Cure.