The Night Before

Seth Rogen has grown up so many times on screen you'd think he'd have the hang of it by now.

But The Night Before, which reunites the Pineapple Express and Knocked Up star with a few of his past collaborators, once again has the amiable actor playing chicken with maturity.

To be fair, Rogen's Night Before character is actually pretty happy with his position as husband and father-to-be, although going a little overboard with a buffet of illegal narcotics does bring a few of his fears to the surface.

It's really Joseph Gordon-Levitt who's having trouble fully embracing the life of an adult, but one crazy Christmas Eve in the company of his best friends will probably help push him in the right direction.

As a teenager, Gordon-Levitt's Ethan lost both his parents in a car accident, but his pals Isaac (Rogen) and Chris (Anthony Mackie) were quick to come to his aid, turning a potentially lonely holiday season into a Christmas bash that soon became a tradition.

Karaoke, Chinese food and a pub crawl were fun for years, but family man Isaac and sports star Chris are on the verge of calling it a day.

But they want to give Ethan one last party to remember, and so they hit the streets of New York with a swag of drugs and invitations to the coolest event in town. As you may guess, though, things don't go according to plan.

Rough around the edges, even by the shaggy standards of a Rogen-led comedy, The Night Before is certainly entertaining, thanks to the energy and chemistry of the three leads and a never-ending parade of talented actors and big names popping up in cameos.

But story-wise it's awfully thin, often relying on cheap outrageousness and flimsy confrontations to keep things moving forward.

Luckily, it does have an ace in the hole in the form of character actor and professional weirdo Michael Shannon, who seems to have entered the stage of his career where he can poke fun at his menace and intensity.

His every appearance as weed dealer and guardian angel Mr Green shifts The Night Before into a higher gear whenever he appears on screen.