The Night Before (2009)

DVD

Keanu Reeves came onto the scene shortly after the Brat Pack had partied there way across Hollywood, and missed that bus by only a couple of seconds. Which may be why he is still one of our go-to leading men at this moment in cinematic history. The Night Before came prior to his breakout role in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure. Here, he plays the nerdy Winston, and brings along a heaping helping of the surfer dude charm that would later make him famous. The film opens with Reeves lying in the middle of the street, recovering from a black out. As he retraces his steps from the previous night, he slowly remembers that he sold his prom date to a pimp named Tito. He has lost his wallet, and the valet is driving around the deserted city in his father's prized sports car. It's the perfect 80s set up for a truly classic high school comedy. Keanu "whoa"s his way through one goofy misstep after the next, and the film essentially builds itself into a younger, hipper version of Martin Scorsese's Afterhours. Lori Laughlin plays Keanu's prom date, having lost a bet to the cooler kids at school, and she truly shines as the comedic foil attempting to thwart his plans to bring her home safe and in one piece. The first half of the story is told in hilarious flashbacks, as the awkward Winston attempts to impress this beautiful and spoiled daughter of an armed policeman. There is one truly hilarious sequence, which finds Reeves in the bathroom, attacking the mirror after being slipped a roofie. The second half of the film tracks Winston's plight to save his prom date before she is forced into drugged prostitution. The themes are dark, and the action is quite fast paced. If you like classic teen comedies such as License to Drive and Adventures in Babysitting, this is one of the best around. It is being released on DVD for the first time as part of Lionsgate's recently released Lost Collection. And it's the best entry in the bunch.

The film's overall DVD presentation is rather lame. All we get is a threadbare trivia track that asks such quality questions as "True or False: The Night Before was shot on location in Los Angeles?". There is a trailer for the original My Bloody Valentine Special Edition DVD, which touts some pretty great extras. There are also trailers for Monster Squad and Dirty Dancing. Why is this thing pockmarked with such old DVD trailers? Weird.

This is one of Keanu's all-time best comedies. Even though it was made in the late 80s, it has stood the test of time. It is definitely something you will want to own. The Lost Collection is fairly inexpensive. I say buy it! You'll want to watch it again and again.