"Rough Night" and the State of Comedy
Sunday, June 18, 2017 at 9:00PM by Eric Blume
My assignment for TFE was a review of the movie Rough Night. But since I was not raised in a barn, nor raised by wolves, my mother once told me if you can’t find something nice to say, don’t say anything at all. So we’ll keep it short on Rough Night itself. It’s actually depressing how bad this movie is, a twist on a rather good mainstream movie called Very Bad Things, back in the Cameron Diaz days of 1998. That Peter Berg film had a bit of an edge as it followed several guy friends on a bachelor party who find themselves in a dead hooker situation. Rough Night is the distaff version of this tale, but the inept script, bad performances, and bland direction make it a tough sit. The film’s five actresses (Scarlett Johansson, Kate McKinnon, Zoe Kravitz, Jillian Bell, and Ilana Glazer) are winning, talented ladies and deserved a far better vehicle.
Sitting through Rough Night your mind may wander, as did mine, to the state of mainstream comedy in the cinema these days...