Where to watch A Night at the Roxbury
3 Stars
The Roxbury Guys, Steve and Doug Butabi, want to get into the best club in town, and also hope to open their own club. Vivica, a gold-digging supermodel, and her friend Cambi try to work the Roxbury Guys for their money, only to find out the pair is broke.
What is a movie based on a three-minute, one-joke SNL skit, featuring two obnoxious coke heads? Well, it’s an innocent rom-com with raunchy elements, but ultimately a saccharine-sweet sibling love story. SNL writer Steve Koren, responsible for the excellent Sandler flick Click, has fleshed out the monotonous TV sketch into a lively 80-minute comedy that mines the one-dimensional gimmick for all its worth.
Ferrell and Kattan work well off one another, and their self-adoration is amusing. SNL alumni Colin Quinn and Molly Shannon also appear in bit parts, but once Shannon takes the screen, she promptly steals the film; other notable extended cameos include Chazz Palminteri and Richard Grieco. I was/am such a big fan of SNL, particularly during the late 90s era, that I caught Night at the Roxbury during its theatrical run. I laughed often, and I remember the movie being a sexy, goofy, good-natured comedy with kick-ass music. However, I also thought it was bawdy, and upon rewatching it today, I would categorize it as restrained in its depiction of the LA nightlife/drug scene.
A Night at the Roxbury isn’t the best nor the worst of the movies to come from SNL skits. Yet, it’s the one I find myself revisiting with the most regularity. Maybe it’s nostalgia? Perhaps it’s the Haddaway song that gets stuck in my head? Or, A Night at the Roxbury has stood the test of time and has become a worthy entry alongside other seminal Will Ferrell comedies.
Directed by: John Fortenberry
Written by: Steve Koren, Will Ferrell, Chris Kattan
Starring: Chris Kattan, Will Ferrell, Raquel Gardner