by Monica Hayes
Five college friends reunite after 10 years for a bachelorette weekend full of fun, sun and a little mischief in Miami. However, things get a little too wild and a little corny making it a true Rough Night.
Jess (Scarlett Johansson) is getting married and her best friends from college Alice (Jillian Bell), Blair (Zoe Kravitz) Frankie (Ilana Glazer) and Pippa (Kate McKinnon), Jess’ close friend from her study abroad have planned a fun weekend of pure fun in Miami. All of the ladies are excited for a much-needed break from the stresses of their everyday lives and can’t wait to let loose and have a little fun. Once all the girls arrive and get settled into their rented space, it is now time for bachelorette shenanigans to begin. Let the drinking, drugs, and partying begin! Alice has planned everything down to the smallest detail, but when the girls plan to surprise Jess with a stripper, things go from wild and fun to OMG real quick.
It was rough watching Rough Night. It is a combination of Wedding Party, The Hangover and Weekend at Bernie’s and all rolled into one, just less funny. The characters are very similar to Hangover: Jess/Doug (the bride/groom to be), Blair/Phil (the stylish, cute friend), Frankie/Stu (the undercover rebel), and Alice/Alan (the needy delusional best friend). Just as Alan was the cause of the majority of what goes wrong in all of the Hangover movies, Alice assumes this role in Rough Night. She is the best friend who is overly horny, stuck in the past reliving the glory days in college and majorly jealous of Pippa and Jess’ relationship.
As the shenanigans and foolery unfold, it is painfully clear that the ladies haven’t a clue what to do, and have totally made things worse than when they started. Even with the few hilarious scenes, with McKinnon’s over exaggerated Australian accent, the girls bumbling miscues, and the awkward sex scene between Blair and the next door neighbors Pietro and Lea (Ty Burrell and Demi Moore), this all-star cast couldn’t pull off what should have been the breakout comedy to start off the summer. Which is quite a disappointment, because each of these women has had success in other movies (The Avengers, Ghostbusters, Divergent, Fist Fight, The Night Before) were their talents were stellar. Unfortunately, this is not the case.
Grade C