Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

Rough Night Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman September 6, 2017

Imagine a cruder, clumsier, less funny, and more limited-scope version of Weekend at Bernie's to get an idea of what's in store in Rough Night, Director Lucia Aniello's Comedy about a bachelorette party that goes terribly wrong. The film revels in standard contemporary comedy cliché, employs blandly developed characters, comes packed with the requisite drinking and dancing scenes, is brimming with vulgarity, and works character angles that nobody really cares about. The film is good for a few laughs but feels destined to be lost and forgotten amidst the onslaught of so many other similarly assembled films that, true, don't share this exact plot but do share all of the trite and unimaginative character strokes and antics that propel it towards its endpoint.

Jess (Scarlett Johansson) is an up-and-coming politician running for a state senate seat. She is also getting married. Her lifelong best friend Alice (Jillian Bell) is throwing a hip and happening bachelorette party for her in Miami. Also coming are their college friends Frankie (Ilana Glazer), a political activist, and Blair (Zoë Kravitz), a mother going through a divorce and custody battle. Jess, much to the chagrin of her friends, also invites Pippa (Kate McKinnon), an Australian whom she met while studying overseas. They're staying at a posh Miami beachfront mansion, a gift from one of Jess' political donors. They hire a stripper, something Jess wants no part of but gets, anyway. When he arrives, he's almost instantly killed when Alice leaps on, knocks him backwards, and cracks his skull on the corner of the fireplace. The girls have no choice but to try and dispose of the body lest their weekend, and their lives, become ruined.

Rough Night fails to innovate and struggles through its trite comedy riffs that are more grating than gut-busting. The film flops about as it attempts to build legitimate character relationships that eventually turn to struggle as various revelations are made and the friends are pushed to the brink, not simply by their actions but by the realization that they haven't exactly been honest with one another. The established connections -- Jess and Alice are best friends, Frankie and Blair are ex-lovers, and the fifth, Australian Pippa, is literally a fifth wheel -- seem crafted less from an organic state and more to facilitate various scenes and gags. Much of the problem is that the movie takes the easy road with each one. Friendship that breeds hostility is sure to come back around to friendship, usually by some carefully planted plot device or line that screams "reconciliation" for some future point in the movie, including the broken romance between Frankie and Blair, a secret personalized greeting card, or the roundabout hostility towards Pippa as her presence "interferes" with the otherwise tight-knit quartet.

The failure to be consistently or memorably funny isn't for a lack of effort on the part of the cast. Scarlett Johansson is good as the slightly prudish Jess, the center of attention and political candidate who fears scandal and getting caught in some act that might diminish her chances of winning, as if her extremely awkward campaign ad hadn't already done irreparable damage. The hopelessly typecast Jillian Bell does her thing well enough, playing the spunky and spirited but vacuous best friend with the verve fans have come to expect. Kate McKinnon generates the most regular laughs with her comically-bent Australian accent. The rest of the cast is fine, which includes brief but important parts from screen veterans like Demi Moore and Dean Winters. Co-Writer Paul W. Downs' character isn't exactly memorable, but he is involved in many of the film's funniest scenes, including various cutaways to his "bachelor party" where surprise and excitement come from sipping wine with his friends and "getting crazy" by turning their attention to a chilled bottle.

Rough Night Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Rough Night's 1080p transfer shines. The digitally photographed motion picture delivers a dazzling, clean image, with only the expected spike in source noise at lower light the only blemish of note. Details are smooth, clean, and well defined. Faces are sufficiently complex, revealing makeup and small imperfections with relative ease. Clothing fabric and seams are obvious in close-up, and the image's abundance of clarity and sharpness bring out the best details around Miami, whether a darker, dense club or a bright, clean multimillion dollar home. Colors shine. The palette is vibrant, offering intense reds, well saturated natural greens, or gorgeous shots of Miami's blue waters and skies. Neon signs dazzle, as does the stripper's red blood which pops off the screen against the home's white flooring tile. Black levels hold deep and true. Flesh tones appear accurate. Rough Night couldn't look much better on Blu-ray.

Rough Night Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

As per studio norms, Sony has released Rough Night to Blu-ray without the Dolby Atmos soundtrack that accompanies the film's UHD release. The studio has instead provided a very capable and enjoyable DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. The track is full and positive, aggressive and highly immersive. Surround activity comes regularly, with only quieter dialogue moments and simpler locations failing to truly immerse the listener in the girls' activities. Aggressive din shapes a frat party at film's start. Light atmospherics filter throughout the background at Jess' campaign headquarters, matched by a contrasting scene featuring Alice at a playground moments later. Various spots of nightlife in Miami spring to life with thumping bass and crowded, but well defined, surround information. Music is forceful and detailed, wide and deep and supported by hefty bass. Dialogue is clear and well prioritized even in the most chaotic scenes.

Rough Night Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Rough Night contains deleted scenes, a few featurettes, and some additional fluff. A UV digital copy code is included with purchase.

• Deleted Scenes (1080p, 9:24 total runtime): Sunset, Singer/Songwriter, Club Intro, Patio Fire Dancing, Stripper Shows It All, Blair and Frankie Talk, Moving the Body, Taking Out the Trash, Drive Down The Miami Drag, Alice Checks On the Real Scotty, and News Report.
• Scandalous Sing-Along (1080p, 1:26): Sing a song about the girls' rough night with Pippa.
• Naughty Neighbor Diaries (1080p): Learn a little more about the sex-obsessed Miami neighbors in two extras: Video Dating Profile (2:02) and "Open Says Me" Questionnaire (2:35).
• Gag Reel (1080p, 4:13): As in "the obligatory" and "expect much Jillian Bell."
• Improv-O-Rama (1080p, 8:37): The cast offers a string of improv lines for various scenes.
• Killer Cast (1080p, 7:53): Everyone gushes about everyone else.
• The Dynamic Duo: Lucia and Paul (1080p, 4:59): A closer look at the film's director and co-writers.
• Playing Dead (1080p, 2:40): A short look at Ryan Cooper's work in the film.
• Do a Little Dance (1080p, 3:03): Making a key dance scene from the film.

Rough Night Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Rough Night isn't a bad movie for lack of effort. If anything it tries too hard but winds up merely duplicating the same sort of gags and lines and physical humor that constructs so many of today's interchangeable genre films. It offers passable time-killing laughs, but audiences expecting something memorable will walk away disappointed and wondering why they spent their money on a movie they've seen a few dozen times already. Sony's Blu-ray is rather good, featuring top-end video and audio along with a fair supplemental package. Worth a rental.