A smartly built, chemically-enhanced Christmas story about growing up that you can't watch with the grown-ups — at least, not the ones who will get bothered by dick pics. The Night Before, which follows three friends (Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen, and Anthony Mackie) as they wind down a tradition of Christmas Eve guy's-night-outing, is of those movies where the most random scene turns out to be the whole point of things. In this case, it's a showdown between the elfin Gordon-Levitt and a couple of pissed (and pissing) Santas out on a Christmas Eve pub crawl. He's outraged at what he thinks is a broffensive desecration of a childhood icon, but the two are actually proper adults with a firm grasp on reality, fantasy, and the virtues of each. Our guys have a long journey ahead of them, full of callbacks to their beloved Christmas stories: the Grinch, Home Alone, and most importantly, Scrooge. (Michael Shannon very nearly steals the show.) Directed by Jonathan Levine (Warm Bodies). (2015) — Matthew Lickona
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