Comedy Red Box

Last night was had a night in and rented a couple of comedies: Sisters (2015) and The Night Before (2015).

We first watched Sisters, the Amy Poehler and Tina Fey buddy movie where one sister is an overachiever and the the is wild. It's a funny movie but something felt wrong about the tone. As the movie goes on it gets funnier and funnier but it has a tone problem. From scene to scene the tone fluctuates from silly to subtle and I think these cuts are not as smooth as they could have been because the score is just a bit off and at times there are scenes with no score that need a little something in the background to give it some life. I didn't have the highest expectations for this movie because despite the stars, it still didn't get much buzz or especially high reviews. It is definitely worth a watch for a few laughs, it feels like a perfect night in rental.

Oddly, and a little out of place with the rest of the movie, this movie ends with a Christmas scene and some pretty heavy Christmas music, probably because it was released in December. It worked pretty nicely to transition into the second movie of the night, The Night Before, which is a Seth Rogan vehicle about drugs, Christmas, and insecurity. It does a surprisingly good job of playing with Christmas story themes and making them funny connected with the thread of an otherworldly drug dealing Michael Shannon who acts as a ghost guide through the night.

Both movies have a lot of laughs and a lot of familiar faces as actors in the background or in side stories. The Night Before is a little bit more smooth of a film, although Sisters might use the supporting characters better with some hilarious parts for John Leguizamo, John Cena, and Bobby Moynihan. My wife was quite impressed by John Cena's timing in Sisters as she had never seen him before and didn't know who he was. I think this role and his Trainwreck role were both executed very well and he fills a hole in comedy of a big muscle bound actor who can deliver funny lines, that Hollywood has been desparate for since Twins or Junior, a pair of Schwarzenegger movies where he stumbled through his lines.