'ROUGH NIGHT' | Film for a girls' night out!
'Rough Night' tells the story of events that go terribly wrong for a group of girlfriends who hire a male stripper for a bachelorette party in Miami. If you're looking for a film that allows you to switch off and unwind, 'Rough Night' serves its purpose. It is a mindless film where events are predictable, and characters react to said events in the way that you expected them to. This is a plot we’ve seen before, unfortunately bringing nothing new to the table, besides its all female lead cast. D**k jokes and characters going overboard with stupid actions like mixing drugs and alcohol is old. It pushes no clever boundaries and doesn't compel its audience to invest in its characters. However, 'Rough Night' shouldn’t be taken seriously, and if you go in without expectations, a much more enjoyable time could had.
The film is not perfect, but it is fun - even though no jokes are laugh out loud funny. The first act of the film is by far the weakest, but needed to establish its (obvious) plot. Once you get past this, the film really gets going, and events start to spiral out of control.
The best part about of the latter two acts of the film are that the female characters aren’t sexualised in any way, unlike the female characters in films like 'The Hangover' (which 'Rough Night' has been compared to). For all that the film is (and what it is not), this is actually quite nice to see. And as an Australian, going into this film knowing that American comedian Kate McKinnon played an Australian was a nerve-wracking. There were times where her accent seemed a little over the top, or others where she lost it completely, but overall, it remained consistent. It also would have been great to seen an Australian fill the role, especially as there is no shortage of Australian actors in Hollywood right now - with the likes of Margot Robbie, Rose Byrne (who used her native accent in comedy 'Neighbours' along with its sequel), Isla Fisher, Teresa Palmer, Abbie Cornish, and Rebel Wilson (who like Byrne, uses her native accent in the 'Pitch Perfect' films).
It’s nice to see Scarlett Johansson taking on a comedy, as she’s mostly taken to dramas or seen kicking ass in action flicks like 'The Avengers'. Jillian Bell and Zoe Kravitz don’t disappoint, getting their own fair share of laughs.
The friendship between the characters is something that could really be believed and that’s something that can be commended. The unexpected appearance of Demi Moore was nice as, much like Johansson, it wasn’t something the audience saw coming. And with all these female characters, it was good to see that they weren’t portrayed in a one-dimensional way. 'Rough Night' offers a lot more than the typical storyline it follows that many of the male lead films fail to deliver on. Though it may not be the most memorable film, and one that may not be getting much attention amongst the other slew bigger budgeted or more series films out now, it’s at least something you can switch off to while having a laugh. A solid 5/10.
'Rough Night' is in cinemas now.
Criss Gidas
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