The Rogen who stole Christmas
Set for release in November, new trailers for ‘The Night Before’ indicate this Christmas movie has a very Jewish twist
Seth Rogen is clearly stepping up his Jewiness with a recent announcement that he’s sponsoring a very Rogen bar mitzvah for buddy James Franco in October. But with his new film, “The Night Before” to hit theaters in November, Rogen is authoritatively answering the age-old question, “Where the heck are all the Hanukkah movies?”
Other than eight days of presents, an abundance of fried foods, and the “Rugrats Chanukah Special,” Jews generally get no love during the holiday season. The closest Members of the Tribe have ever even come to a Hanukkah mascot was with “The Hebrew Hammer,” a throwback to 1970s Blaxploitation films.
No longer.
Rogan’s “The Night Before” title is an allusion to the opening line of the classic poem “A Visit From Saint Nicholas” or more commonly known as “The Night Before Christmas.” And from the looks of the trailer, it’s more than just a movie about three friends (Rogan, fellow yid Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Anthony Mackie) who have a last night of debauchery on Christmas Eve.
The Canadian actor is about to turn the Christmas film genre on its head by slipping a bunch of Jewish hijinks through the cracks, starting from his sweater emblazoned with the Star of David as he, Gordon-Levitt, and Mackie recreate the iconic piano scene from “Big,” replacing “Chopsticks” with Kanye’s “Runaway.”
The trailer also includes other gems for the Israelite crowd, such as Rogan walking through a Chinese restaurant, pointing out his sweater to a bunch of Hassids enjoying some General Tso’s and lo mein.
The jaw-dropping climax of the trailer has Rogan’s character in the middle of a crowded church as he shouts “We didn’t kill Jesus! We didn’t do it!”
Rogan — in a very grinchy way — has stolen Christmas and replaced it with the Festival of Lights.
