The new greatest Christmas movie: "The Night Before" movie review

The three best friends have an entire night planned out, including doing karaoke to Run-DMC's "Holiday in Hollis" and other traditions.

I love Seth Rogen more than the average person. I consider him one of my heroes and admire his career to an extent where the obsession cannot be explained (I even have a giant "This Is The End" poster in my bedroom and have kept the copies of "Rolling Stone" where Rogen and James Franco grace the cover). I have seen a fair number of Seth Rogen movies in theater even though most of the films are not worth $11. There are a few exceptions and "The Night Before" is one. 

The story of "The Night Before" starts with the passing of Ethan's (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) parents, who died around the holidays. His two best friends Isaac and Chris (Rogen and Anthony Mackie, respectively) start a new Christmas Eve tradition (although Isaac is Jewish and we are reminded often during the movie) of causing havoc and having fun in their home of New York City. After 14 years, the traditions of going out for Chinese food, doing karaoke, and bar crawling grows tiresome as the threesome are much older than before. Isaac is preparing for his wife to have a baby and has a career as a lawyer, Chris' football career is starting to gain momentum while Ethan makes music but doesn't perform gigs or show anyone his music. 

Ethan however is dwelling in the past of his parents' death and doesn't want to move on like his friends. The guys have wanted to go to an epic Christmas Eve party, The Nutcracker Ball, for seven years and when Ethan steals three tickets from a customer's jacket while at work, they know it will be the best last Christmas they could spend together. The three spend the hours before the party doing drugs, finding drugs, physically chasing down drugs, yelling at Santas, being inadvertently Jewish in a Catholic church, and get into even more trouble after actually getting to the party. The movie featured Rogen's signature (dare I say, iconic?) laugh, Gordon-Levitt's charming good looks, and a string of (for lack of a better word) awesome female characters. 

"The Night Before" also features the talents of Lizzy Caplan, Mindy Kaling, Jillian Bell, and Michael Shannon. Rogen is friends with half of Hollywood and that's apparent when James Franco, Miley Cyrus, Ilana Glazer, and Tracy Morgan come out of nowhere with cameos to add to the spectacle of this new Christmas favorite. Rogen's films stick to a basic formula, including the cast and each surprise guest is funnier than the last. The screenplay has nods to "The Great Gatsby" with the concepts of an elusive, grand party where no one knows the host, and "A Christmas Carol" with the idea of certain strains of marijuana helping you see the past and future.

Miley Cyrus (as Miley Cyrus) and Ethan share a moment onstage as they sing "Wrecking Ball" and propose to Ethan's ex-girlfriend.

What I love about Seth Rogen movies is they are filled with strong friendships. I take my friendships very seriously and value every relationship and connection I have with a person. Watching a movie with Seth Rogen only leads me to think about my own close friends. It's a warm, fuzzing-feeling, bro movie and I love everything about it. 

Seth Rogen and his crew of famous friends are the friends I'll never have but the people I already know. Every time a new Seth Rogen movie comes out I text my friends excitedly telling them we'll have to see it together even though I know they'll likely find the movie annoying. I've seen this group in a million different movies together, do interviews, and all around act like my own group of friends and that's what I love about each movie. Although goofy and redundant, "The Night Before," like other Seth Rogen movies, is about friendship and that is truly what I want to see.