The Night Before is a surprisingly charming Christmas comedy that revolves around three best friends. The best friends, Isaac, Ethan, and Chris have a special tradition of doing a very specific set of activities and hanging out with each other every year on Christmas Eve. The tradition starts when Isaac and Chris tried to cheer up Ethan after the death of his parents by parading around the city and doing crazy activities that are intended to help keep Ethan's mind off of it. However, because they've been doing the tradition for fourteen years, Isaac and Chris feel like it is time for them to grow up and that they have to finally stop doing their Christmas Eve traditions. Isaac is going to be a father very soon, and Chris is now an incredibly successful athlete, but although Ethan is still reluctant towards stopping the traditions, since this means the entire world to him, he understands how his friends feel. Because of this, the trio decides to have one last Christmas Eve together that will be the best one ever, and when Ethan discovers three tickets to what most believe to be the best party in all of New York City, which is something that the friends have been searching for the entirety of their Christmas Eve traditions, Ethan knows that the night is going to be special. In their crazy adventure, Isaac, Ethan, and Chris learn the true meaning of Christmas, friendship, as they learn more about themselves and those around them, as they must deal with a real life Grinch, the fact that they are all growing up, them trying to create new relationships with others, and the fact that this might be their last Christmas Eve with each other. 
 The Night Before is shockingly witty and manages to prove to be scores of fun. The movie has some truly clever jokes delicately placed throughout the dialogue, ensuring that the tone of the movie is nice and light. It is able to conjure up a fair amount of genuine hilariousness, and this can be thanked to a fairly thought through dialogue and tremendous cast. The dialogue seems to have multiple layers, and there are definitely some perfectly-timed quotes that help allow there to be an enormous amount of character development. Secondly, the amazing cast of the movie is nothing short of terrific, and it seems like all of the actors and actresses are having fun with their roles. This enjoyment carries on into the movie, which adds to the film's entertainment. There are some fantastic scenes that come to mind, and most of them involve Isaac. Since Seth Rogen is able to have a fabulous performance as the character, Isaac becomes a relatable, instant fan-favorite, and funny character that is able to make the movie so much more engaging to watch. 
 With all of that in mind, The Night Before is definitely not for everyone. There is a ton of explicit content and references that are definitely not intended for non-mature audiences. This is absolutely not a family friendly movie and should not be treated like one. This is a movie that should only be watched by those who are mature enough for this type of movie. 
  The Night Before also has a mixed plot. The beginning of the movie brilliantly sets the stage for the rest of the film and immediately allows audiences to understand the relationships between Isaac, Ethan, and Chris. The middle of the movie marvelously progresses the movie along, while also managing to add in a bunch of other minor conflicts, furthering to help make the movie substantially more interesting. However, the what should-have-been an enticing ending feels lackluster. It seems like the entire movie is leading up to something huge, but, instead, the actual conclusion provides no punch line, leaving viewers wanting more. Parts of the actual end don't really make that much sense and feel way too predictable. Furthermore, this portion of the movie also basically ruins the themes the movie tries to elucidate, by having all of the main characters directly state what they have learned, making this part of the movie feel awkward and illogical. 

 Even though The Night Before certainly has its faults, critics seemed to be a little too harsh with the movie. Metacritic gave the movie a sub-par 58%, which feels way too low, because the movie is able to be quite entertaining for the vast majority of it. Rotten Tomatoes actually gave the movie a significantly better score at 67%, which feels much more fair. A very solid 85% of Google users liked the movie, helping to showcase that viewers did feel some satisfaction with the movie. 

 The Night Before isn't perfect, and the ending of the movie could have definitely been better, but for the most part, it proves to be a fresh Christmas comedy that is sure to create laughs.