The 417th film I have seen in theaters…
The best stoner Christmas movie ever made.
Three NYC friends have a tradition of partying every year on December 24th. For 13 years, they hit a number of spots every year to keep their tradition alive. As time goes on, two of the friends have moved on with their lives. They decide to have one last Christmas together with tickets to the “Nutcracker Ball” The best, most booze and drug fueled party in the City. Things get weird.
The true strength of this film is the caliber of performer. They seriously elevate this material.
JGL plays Ethan, a man who can’t seem to move forward in life. Christmas means a lot to him and the prospect of their tradition ending causes some problems for him. More or less the straight man in the piece. This guy could act his way out of anything.
Ah, Seth Rogan is at home here as Isaac, the Jewish friend. His wife has a baby due at any time and to reward her husband, the wife gives him a box of drugs to blow off steam. Of course he does some Coke and Shrooms and goes “full Rogan”. Hilarious.
Anthony Mackie is the third friend, Chris- the football star. His fame is making it difficult for him to hang with the old gang, and he is falling into the trappings of celebrity. His main action comes from “The Grinch” a woman who pretends to be a fan and makes his Christmas miserable just for the hell of it. Funny stuff.
The great Michael Shannon appears here as the wise ghost of xmas past-esque drug dealer named MR Green. He has some of the best stuff in the film aside from Rogan.
Mindy Kaling as Lizzy Caplan round out our main cast as Sarah and Diana. Diana is JGL’s former girlfriend and a large part of his story is trying to win her back. Caplan does not have much comedy, but Kaling fit in perfectly.
A terrific comedy. The laughs are genuinely great, and Rogan has never been better. Must see holiday film that will probably develop a long life as a cult film years from now.
The Skinny from the Fatty 