The Night Before is one of those movies that was in constant rotation on cable back in the early ‘90s. Although I caught bits and pieces of it here and there during that time, I never actually sat down and watched it all the way through. Thanks to Tubi, I can play catch-up and plug one of my Keanu Reeves’ blind spots.
Keanu plays a dorky teenager who wakes up in an alley with no recollection of how he got there. He soon remembers that he and his date (Lori Loughlin) got lost on the way to the prom and wound up on the wrong side of the tracks. One thing led to another, he got slipped a Mickey, and accidentally sold her off to a pimp named Tito. Now, it’s up to Keanu to get her back.
The Night Before has an OK premise for an ‘80s comedy, although some of it hasn’t aged very well. (Ha, ha! Sex trafficking is funny!) It wasn’t quite as funny as I remembered it, but to be fair, the parts I remembered were weighted towards the third act. It’s the first act that is the big problem, as it’s mostly a bunch of scenes of Reeves stumbling around and trying to remember what happened to Loughlin. The flashback structure is really awkward and some of the ADR is painfully obvious. Once Reeves sets out on his quest to get her back, things improve, but not enough to make it worthwhile.
Reeves does what he can. It’s just that his exasperated nerd character is a little bit out of his wheelhouse. Loughlin fares better as the bitchy rich snob who lost a bet and had go on a date with him.
The Night Before was directed by Thom Eberhardt, who also made Night of the Comet, a personal favorite. Like that flick, there are a lot of scenes of characters wandering around deserted city streets. Unfortunately, The Night Before is sorely missing the sense of fun that made that film a classic.
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