HIGH DEF UNIVERSE

Reviewed by Allie Schembra

Bride-to-be Claire, her sister Leslie, fun-loving Zoe, and quirky new friend Janet set off to Las Vegas for a one-night bachelorette party that turns out to be more than they bargained for. A series of unexpected adventures rips them from the glitz and glamour of the Las Vegas strip and places them smack dab in Vegas’ seedy underbelly. Determined to keep their bachelorette party dreams alive, the girls band together and embark on the wildest night in bachelorette party history that is destined to go down as the Best Night Ever.

Claire is getting married in a week and her sister, Leslie, has planned a low-key bachelorette party at the Bellagio in Las Vegas to celebrate.  Zoe, Claire’s best friend, has brought along her video camera to film every minute of the shenanigans. When Leslie’s credit card is declined, the ladies find out all the rooms in Las Vegas are booked for a convention in town, Claire, Leslie, Zoe and Janet, find a seedy motel to stay in.  After getting ready and heading out for the night, Claire and her friends end up at a strip club, where they buy Claire a lap dance and after touching the dancer during a private lap dance, get kicked out.

Zoe, thinking they need a “pick-me-up,” goes to buy some cocaine, and after being gone for a while, the rest of the ladies go to find her. After being robbed by the supposed drug dealer the girls are left with no money, no shoes (Leslie), and no way to get back to the Las Vegas strip. Zoe, angry they were robbed, chases after the robber and tackles him. She is able to retrieve her purse, which has the camera in it, still recording. With no money for a cab, the girls go in a bar and Janet enters a Jell-O wrestling contest where the winner can receive $500. 

After a terrible beating that lands her a trip to the hospital, the girls attack the paramedic in the back of the ambulance after he insults Janet. They jump out the back of the ambulance and are once again left in the middle of a dark street in Vegas, only this time they have $300. Instead of returning to the no-tell motel they are staying at, the girls decide Claire needs her bachelorette party and they take off to the strip and to downtown Las Vegas where they engage in bachelorette party games and dares. One of the dares is to take a ride in a limousine and instead of just taking the ride, they steal the car. As they drive down the street, they believe the see the guy who robbed them working as a valet. Zoe comes up with a plan and they end up kidnapping him and taking him back to his house where before they finally realize he is not the same guy, tie him up and threaten to taze him.

After finally giving up, Claire, Leslie, Zoe and Janet return to the motel and see in one of the rooms there is a bachelor party going on. Claire launches into a lecture berating the groom-to-be and a fight breaks out. After being rescued from a guy at the party – the same guy she randomly met at the bar where the Jell-O wrestling was taking place, he takes her back to his hotel room. Leslie, Zoe and Janet chase after them and after barging into the wrong hotel room, finally retrieve her and they return to the hotel to sleep.

Oh my gosh, this was the biggest waste of time, ever. Best Night Ever was neither funny, nor entertaining and I found it stupid and a terrible rip off of both The Hangover and Bridesmaids. It was crude, over-the-top, absolutely ridiculous and it makes me sad that I spent 82 minutes watching it, when I could have been asleep. The acting and the shaky camera-work were terrible. I almost felt like I was watching a teenager attempt to make a movie.

Best Night Ever is presented a wide screen 1.78:1 aspect ratio and the single camera, home movie style did not work. While the colors were good and the blacks true, the shakiness of the camera work was not appealing to the movie. Had it been a steady, multi-camera film, it would have rated higher. Not much though, because even good camera work, sets, colors and lights can save a film with a bad script.

The English 5.1 Dolby Digital audio was the best part of this film. The dialogue, as terrible as it was, could be heard clearly and the background sounds blended well and were not over whelming. Subtitles are available in English SDH, Spanish and French.

As with the rest of the film, I was disappointed in the special features. More doesn’t always mean better.

Best Night Ever is not a funny or amusing movie. At first, I thought it was a parody of similar movies, but after letting it sink in a bit, I realized it was not. This is not a movie I will watch again or even turn on in the background for noise. While it had a lot of potential, it turned out to be an attempt at cashing in on The Hangover-type movies and trying to get those fans to flock to it.