NEW YORK (CNS) -- One of the many running gags in the raunchy stoner comedy "The Night Before" (Columbia) is that Seth Rogen's character, Isaac, heads out on an annual Christmas-Eve bender wearing a sweater emblazoned with the Star of David.

The routine culminates at a midnight Mass Isaac attends in the company of his wife, Betsy (Jillian Bell), and her family.

Noisily paranoid from the concoction of illegal drugs Betsy has supplied to him, Isaac throws up in the middle of the aisle. He then casts a shocked glance at the crucifix above the altar, points to his emblem on his chest and announces to the congregants, "We did not kill Jesus!"

That's pretty much the savor of this putrid stew. If there's a theme lurking among its trashy ingredients, it seems to be the conclusion that -- along with his two bacchanalia buddies, slacker Ethan (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and football star Chris (Anthony Mackie) -- man-boy Isaac had better stop clinging to adolescence. Not exactly the deepest, nor the most original, of cinematic insights.

The trio has been observing their traditional spree since 2001, when they first pursued their all-night partying as a way to comfort Ethan after the death of both his parents.

Stuck in a series of humiliating dead-end jobs and having broken up with his girlfriend, Ethan wants to keep the custom going. Isaac, a lawyer who's about to have his first child, and Chris, who's enjoying the considerable financial rewards of his gridiron success, aren't so sure.

But there's an added impetus this year: Ethan has stolen three tickets to a secretive bash called The Nutcracka Ball. The goal of attending it sets the three on an intoxicated and clunky odyssey through the streets and bars of New York, where everyone is making a lot of noise, yet no one seems particularly joyous.

Director Jonathan Levine, who co-wrote the screenplay with Kyle Hunter, Ariel Shaffir and Evan Goldberg, uses a succession of street-side characters, including drunken Santas, to philosophize about the true meaning of Christmas. But it's heedless hedonism -- particularly substance abuse -- that really guides this sleigh ride to nowhere.

The film contains blasphemous humor, constant, benignly viewed drug use, full nudity, semi-graphic casual sexual activity and pervasive rough and crude language. The Catholic News Service classification is O -- morally offensive. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R -- restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

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Jensen is a guest reviewer for Catholic News Service.

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CAPSULE REVIEW

"The Night Before" (Columbia)

A putrid stew of sacrilege and gross-out gags surrounds the adventures of three overgrown adolescents (Seth Rogen, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Anthony Mackie) as they embark on their annual, all-night Christmas Eve bender through the streets of New York. Director and co-writer Jonathan Levine's trashy film dwells on the unpleasant necessity of growing up, and uses a succession of street-side characters, including drunken Santas, to philosophize about the true meaning of the holiday. But it's heedless hedonism -- particularly substance abuse -- that really guides this sleigh ride to nowhere. Blasphemous humor, constant, benignly viewed drug use, full nudity, semi-graphic casual sexual activity, pervasive rough and crude language. The Catholic News Service classification is O -- morally offensive. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R -- restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

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CLASSIFICATION

"The Night Before" (Columbia) -- Catholic News Service classification, O -- morally offensive. Motion Picture Association of America rating, R -- restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.