I’ve got nothing against Seth Rogen. I don’t know him, of course, and he seems to be a perfectly well-adjusted guy, even as one of the world’s highest-paid male actors. And, quite frankly, he’d probably be a fun guy to rip tubes—or a cross joint—with, mostly because of that deep giggle.
And who can forget his impassioned speech about Alzheimer’s Disease at a Senate hearing, in support of his wife, Lauren, with whom he has a foundation, Hilarity for Charity. (Rogen will also throw a bar mitzvah for James Franco in October to raise money for Alzheimer’s research.)
But something feels a bit stale about Rogen’s starring role in The Night Before, a new comedy coming out in November that also features Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Anthony Mackie. In the recently released red band trailer (this means there’s swearing and stuff), Rogen, Gordon-Levitt, and Mackie, set out to continue a 14-year-long tradition of going out on Christmas Eve one last time. So they hit the town: New York City. Here are some highlights from the trailer, posted below:
— Rogen receives a gift when he was younger of a coffee mug that reads, “World’s Smallest Cock.”
— Before Rogen set out with his “ride or die homies,” his supportive, pregnant wife, played by Jillian Bell, gives him cocaine and mushrooms.
— Rogen dons a knit sweater with a Star of David sewn into it.
— When Rogen walks into a Chinese restaurant on Christmas Eve—a Jewish tradition—he points in recognition to a table of Orthodox men and women sitting around a lazy Susan.
— Rogen and Co. ride a Red Bull-branded limo around the City; inside, Rogen bugs out from his drug elixir, possibly set off off by a glass champagne or the Chinese food.
— Rogen pukes in the aisle of a church, then runs off after he says, “We did not kill Jesus!”
Really fresh (Jewish) comedy, I know. Rogen is a lovable every-man whose comedy, like his character in the film, appears to be having trouble growing up. And maybe that’s a good thing, I’m just not quite sure.
Jonathan Zalman is a writer and teacher based in Brooklyn.
