A bachelorette weekend descends into debauchery, drug-fueled
benders, and some inadvertent manslaughter in “Rough Night,” a gleefully
R-rated comedy that marks the feature debut of “Broad City’s” Lucia Aniello. The rarity of raunchy, R-rated comedies helmed by
female directors is reason enough to root for the film, but while there’s
plenty of laughs to be had, the script too often feels frustratingly derivative.
Jess (Scarlett
Johansson), the bride-to-be, is taking a break from her state senate campaign
to dutifully attend her bachelorette weekend in Miami Beach. There’s a certain
sense of obligation as her overbearing freshman roommate, Alice (Jillian Bell),
has planned the event as an excuse to reunite their core group of college
friends, which includes rich Manhattanite Blair (Zoë Kravitz)
and hippie-ish activist Frankie (Ilana Glazer).
The women
have stayed in touch, but as life has taken them in different directions, it’s
been years since they’ve actually seen each other. The late arrival of Pippa
(Kate McKinnon, seemingly channeling her “Ghostbusters” co-star Chris Hemsworth), Jess’s friend from her time studying abroad in
Australia, only adds to the somewhat strained atmosphere. But heavy amounts of
alcohol and a bit of cocaine eventually loosens everyone up for a good time.
Until, that is, an unfortunate accident leaves them with a hunky but very dead
stripper (Ryan Cooper) on their hands.
Directed by Aniello from her script with partner Paul W. Downs (who
also has a role as Jess’s fiancé), “Rough Night” sets out to prove that women
can be just as debaucherous and immoral as men
(though really, if you don’t know that by now, you clearly aren’t hanging with
the right circle of friends). The film is reminiscent of everything from “The
Hangover” and “Very Bad Things” to “Bridesmaids” and even “Weekend at
Bernie’s.” And “derivative” is just about the dirtiest word you can hurl at a
raucous comedy like this.
Comedies
that involve murder — accidental or otherwise — already have a tricky line to
walk, and in something like “Very Bad Things,” part of the joke was how,
beneath their thin veneer of propriety, its characters were truly terrible
people. There, the tone crossed too far into mean-spiritedness, but that also
gave its filmmakers the freedom to do whatever they wanted. Aniello,
on the other hand, feels obligated to make sure the women in her film are
completely redeemed by the time the credits roll.
In attempting
to make sure we know these characters are all decent people at heart, the
script shifts the focus to the rejuvenation of their friendship. The actors
deliver, but since everyone is only assigned a single personality trait (two at
most), the characters aren’t developed enough for us to become that invested in
those relationships. Although the former romance between Blair and Frankie is
one of the few bits of character detail that adds something fresh to the group
dynamic.
Individual
scenes in “Rough Night” are hilarious, but the narrative lacks the sense of
escalation that’s crucial for this type of farce. With the caliber of talent
that’s in front of and behind the camera, “Rough Night” should have made for a
bender worth remembering.
Check back on Friday for additional film coverage, including a review of “The Exception.”
This article appears in Jun 21-27, 2017.
