A sloppy, untossed salad of a comedy, “Rough Night” survives on funny bits and a game cast. First-time director Lucia Aniello is a veteran of small-screen comedies like “Broad City” and “Other Space,” and like many of her peers who have leapt from TV to film, her skill at filling 22-minute time slots does not translate to a smooth debut feature.
She and co-writer Paul W. Downs (“Broad City”) know their way around a gag, though, and “Rough Night” features just enough laughs to make you ignore that the movie is a hodgepodge of ideas left over from films like “The Hangover,” “Bridesmaids,” “Very Bad Things” and even “Think Like a Man Too.” (The latter film’s cast’s lip-synch to “Poison” outshines this movie’s similar dance number set to a far more salacious tune.)
After a quick flashback to 2006, where roommates Jess (Scarlett Johansson) and Alice (Jillian Bell, “22 Jump Street”) and girlfriends Blair (Zoë Kravitz) and Frankie (Ilana Glazer) were a close foursome of collegiate friendship, we jump to the present, where Jess’s life is consumed by her tepid campaign for state senate. Even with the upcoming election on her plate, Jess’s fiancé Peter (Downs) encourages her to go to Miami for a wild bachelorette weekend that the overzealous Alice has put together.
It’s a somewhat strained reunion, between Alice trying too hard, and the estranged Blair and Frankie having turned into, respectively, a rich dilettante and an overbearing activist. Alice also resents the arrival of Pippa (Kate McKinnon), a close friend Jess made during her semester abroad in Australia. This quintet’s coke-fueled night on the town goes south when Alice accidentally kills the stripper (Ryan Cooper) Frankie has hired to dance for Jess.
The women try at first to hide the body from the libertines next door (Demi Moore and Ty Burrell, both wonderfully skeevy) and then later to dispose of the corpse altogether. Peter, meanwhile, has an awkward phone conversation with Jess that compels him to take drastic measures to save his impending nuptials.
“Rough Night” wants very much to be a specific kind of hide-the-dead-body farce, but the mechanics of that brand of comedy require attention to timing and escalation that Aniello never quite nails. Lines of dialogue or bits of business within a scene will often be funny, but those scenes never flow together as the movie lurches through the titular evening without letting the discomfort or the peril mount. The film’s tone and pacing jerk about in fits and starts like it was stuck in first gear.
And even though we’ve reached a stage where female characters can be as hard-drinking, foul-mouthed and sex-crazed as their dude counterparts, there’s always a significant difference between the boy gross-out comedy and the girl gross-out comedy: some focus group somewhere decided that the girl version always has to have a tear-filled scene where our heroines put down the bong long enough to talk about their feelings and their relationships, and the moment invariably feels tacked-on.
If the guys don’t have to get out their handkerchiefs, then neither should the gals, and if you thought the “from the makers of ‘Broad City'” tag line meant a smarter or bolder exploration of gender, think again.
McKinnon, as per usual, walks away with the movie, adding a hilariously tone-deaf Aussie accent to the manic gleam she brings to every role. But given the talent on hand here, this should be more of an ensemble effort. Johansson has proven herself time and again to be one of the most fearless and dependably hilarious guest hosts in the “SNL” stable, but she’s too often saddled with being the straight-woman here. Glazer and Bell, so wildly funny elsewhere, wind up stuck playing scant variations on a single note. (As for co-writer Downs, he’s given himself some amusing bits that show off his gymnastic skills, but his character feels a bit extraneous to the business at hand.)
Even if “Rough Night” lives up to its title more than it should, there are still lots of laughs here, enough to smooth over the erratic filmmaking. If Aniello can marry her gag-writing skills with viable comedic editing and directing, she’ll earn the brass ring.
'SNL' 5-Timers Club: Most Frequent Hosts, From Alec Baldwin to Paul Rudd (Photos)
In the world of sketch comedy, there is no fraternity more prestigious than the "Saturday Night Live Five-Timers Club." Those who have proven their worthiness by hosting "SNL" five times are invited into an elite circle, where they don luxurious satin robes, smoke expensive cigars and, for their entertainment, watch current cast members fight to the death.
NBC
Alec Baldwin - 17
Not counting his many guest appearances to play guys like Donald Trump, Baldwin has hosted 16 times, passing Steve Martin's record in 2011. Martin was there that night to demand a surprise drug test.
NBC
Steve Martin - 15
The esteemed president of the Five-Timers Club was also the fastest to get to that milestone, hosting his fifth less than two years after hosting his first. In total, Martin has hosted fifteen times, most recently in 2009.
NBC
John Goodman - 13
Though Goodman last hosted "SNL" in 2013, he has appeared in multiple cold open sketches since.
NBC
Tom Hanks - 10
Hanks' fifth go-around as host in 1990 was what spawned the Five-Timers Club sketch. But now his most famous contribution to the series is definitely David S. Pumpkins. In April 2020, he also hosted remotely during the first "at home" edition during the coronavirus pandemic shutdown.
NBC
Buck Henry - 10
From 1976 to 1980, it was tradition for the "Heaven Can Wait" director to host the "SNL" season finale. In total, Henry hosted 10 episodes, including a Mardi Gras special.
NBC
Chevy Chase - 8
The original anchor of "Weekend Update" hosted "SNL" eight times after being the first original cast member to leave in the middle of the show's second season.
NBC
Christopher Walken - 7
Walken was the first person to join the Five-Timers Club in the 21st Century after making his fifth appearance in May 2001.
NBC
Drew Barrymore - 6
Though we haven't seen her in a Five-Timers' robe, her portrait is in the club's luxurious quarters. She holds the record for youngest host ever, having appeared on the show at age 7 following the release of "E.T." in 1982.
NBC
Elliot Gould - 6
Gould hosted the show five times in the '70s, but his sixth appearance was his last after being blindsided by the sudden departure of Lorne Michaels from the show in 1980.
NBC
Danny DeVito - 6
Shortly after playing The Penguin in "Batman Returns," DeVito joined the club with an "SNL" appearance in January 1993.
FX
Tina Fey - 6
Arguably the most famous "SNL" cast member among millennials, Tina Fey joined the Club in 2015 after a hosting career that included (and still includes) her famous Sarah Palin impression.
NBC
Scarlett Johansson - 6
The actress made her fifth appearance in 2016, and kicked off her monologue by putting on a Five-Timers jacket handed to her by Kenan Thompson. (She hosted again with then-fiancé Colin Jost in December 2019.)
NBC
Candice Bergen - 5
Bergen was the first woman to host "SNL" and hosted five times from 1975 to 1990.
NBC
Bill Murray - 5
After starring on the show in Seasons 2-5, Murray returned to host five times in the '80s and '90s.
NBC
Ben Affleck - 5
The man "SNL" once mocked for his film "Gigli" joined the Five-Timers club in 2013, shortly after winning the Best Picture Oscar for "Argo."
NBC
Justin Timberlake - 5
The pop star's fifth appearance in 2013 saw "SNL" bring back the "Five-Timers" sketch, as Timberlake's induction was celebrated with a brawl between cast members Bobby Moynihan and Taran Killam.
NBC
Melissa McCarthy - 5
After a season of guest appearances as Donald Trump's White House Press Secretary, Sean Spicer, McCarthy grabbed her Five-Timers jacket in Season 42.
NBC
Dwayne Johnson- 5
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson hosted the finale of the 42nd season of "SNL"
Jonah Hill - 5
Hill's five appearances as host spanned a decade, with the first coming in 2008 and the fifth on Nov. 3, 2018. He was admitted into the Five-Timers Club by Tina Fey, Drew Barrymore and Candice Bergen.
Will Ferrell - 5
One of the most successful "SNL" alums of the '90s, Ferrell joined the club on Nov. 23, 2019. Among his most famous "SNL" bits were his George W. Bush impression and his recurring role as Alex Trebek on "Celebrity Jeopardy."
Paul Rudd - 5
Paul Rudd joined the Five-Timers Club on Dec. 18, 2021, having made his first "SNL" hosting appearance 13 years prior.
NBC
John Mulaney - 5
The newest member of the Five-Timers Club is the first since Steve Martin to join less than four years after his first hosting turn. A former "SNL" writer who won an Emmy during his four seasons on the staff, Mulaney has become known as a host for leading the cast in musical segments lampooning Broadway classics and the indignities of life as a New Yorker.
Paul Simon - 4
Technically, Simon only hosted four times, but he's been included in "Five-Timers Club" sketches since he was the musical guest on a fifth show. He also owns arguably the most emotional moment in the history of "SNL": his performance of "The Boxer" in the cold open of the first post-9/11 episode.
Getty
1 of 24
TheWrap looks back at those who’ve joined the most elite club in sketch comedy
In the world of sketch comedy, there is no fraternity more prestigious than the "Saturday Night Live Five-Timers Club." Those who have proven their worthiness by hosting "SNL" five times are invited into an elite circle, where they don luxurious satin robes, smoke expensive cigars and, for their entertainment, watch current cast members fight to the death.