Astaire and Rogers. Tracy and Hepburn. Gable and Leigh. All classic movie pairings … that obviously don’t hold a candle to the adventures of Seth Rogen and his various on-screen bromantic partners. He and his multiple bro-loves – whether it be James Franco, Jay Baruchel or some other member of their improv-happy posse – have outsmarted gangsters, beaten cancer, escaped a brutal dictator and even survived the apocalypse.

However, their latest reefer-laiden romp, "The Night Before," presents perhaps Rogen and company’s toughest bro-lationship hurdle yet: the holidays … and, more importantly, an increasing sense of déjà vu for the audience. After all, most relationships begin to go stale after a while – even ones that inhale several Hunter S. Thompsons worth of drugs and almost start real global conflicts – and you have to start putting in a little extra work to keep the love alive and fresh. Luckily, that effort is there in "The Night Before," at least enough to keep the familiar fun and the flame – or, more likely, the joint – of bromance burning.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Anthony Mackie fill out Rogen’s crew this time around, playing three buddies old high school buddies who traditionally meet up on Christmas Eve for a night of remembering Ethan’s (JGL) dead parents – and then mostly getting really drunk and ridiculous. Time, however, is catching up with their tradition. Isaac (Rogen) is soon to be a father, while jock Chris (Mackie) has finally made it big playing football. The only one not ready to move on is Ethan, still putting off bigger plans for cheap serving jobs and sill pining for the girl (Lizzy Caplan, "The Interview") his arrested development let get away.

Even a reluctant Ethan agrees, however, to make this year the last for their tipsy tradition. And if they’re going out, they’re going out with a bang by finally getting into the Nutcracker Ball, the ultimate white whale of NYC Christmas shindigs. They’ve swiped the necessary tickets; now it’s just a matter of if they’ll make it there in one piece – no safe bet, considering Ethan’s fragile emotions, Chris’ city-wide chase for a weed-stealing grinch (Ilana Glazer, "Broad City") and Isaac’s inadvertent attempts to shove more drugs in his system than a one-man adaptation of "The Wolf of Wall Street."

Along the way, writer-director Jonathan Levine and his three other scribes (including typical Rogen partner-in-crime Evan Goldberg) namecheck and nod a plenty to other holiday classics: a bit of "Christmas Carol" structure here, a "Home Alone" scream face there – just for starters. First and foremost, though, "The Night Before" is a Rogen and company movie, following the loosely assembled and loosely scripted blueprint of their past adventures.

There’s more of the guys’ funny drug-aided and drug-aimed escapades, filmed as usual with more visual panache than most comedies, dipping into the surreal and hallucinatory. The guys’ deep Rolodex of celebrity and funny friends gets pulled out again, delivering bits ranging from the amusing – the omnipresent Miley Cyrus, in one of her more welcome appearances – to the plain inspired – Michael Shannon, his intensity making a perfect new springboard for Rogen and the rest to bounce off. And even with relative newcomers to the gang – this is Mackie’s first project with the team, while Rogen and JGL worked on the far more dramatic "50/50" – the cast and the story has that usual mix of chummy charm and crassness, sweet and stoned, that audiences have gotten pleasantly used to.

VERY used to. Rogen’s films have never ventured too far out of their comfort zone in terms of characters and plot – and the holidays are nothing if not a time for cozy stories. But after placing their antics into some inventive, potential-rich backdrops – the end of days, North Korea – New York at Christmas time plays a little rote, and the rest of the script doesn’t do much to push the originality forward either. Ten minutes in, it’s not hard to map out the predictable paths for each character, eventually learning the typical Apatow-approved lessons about finally growing up – and, most crucial moral of all, the importance of one’s bros.

Even some of the gags feel discouragingly familiar, greeted by an "of course" instead of a real laugh. Of course, Miley Cyrus is going to show up – especially after "Wrecking Ball" is discussed earlier in the evening. And of course when Rogen’s character receives graphic text messages and photos from "James," you know what pal is on the other side, bound to make an appearance. The jokes – and the emotional payoffs, for that matter – don’t fall flat, but they don’t exactly play fresh either. 

Is it possible that, a decade after "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" debuted this particular brand of heart and hash comedy, they’re finally reached the point of diminished returns? Not really. It’s just that "The Night Before" carries a bit more dead weight than usual, filling out its crew this time out with some enjoyable but slightly less nimble comedic stars. Mackie has some good lines and reactions, but he’s mostly a toned-down straight man. The same goes for Gordon-Levitt, who, besides some choice elf faces and a vagina impression, is stuck shouldering most of the mopey relationship drama instead of being particularly funny. Imagine "This Is The End" with more Jay Baruchels in place of Danny McBride or James Franco; that’s the problem with "The Night Before," why its foundation seems so noticeably creaky.

Thankfully, its three not particulary wise men still has Rogen as their frontman, and he hilariously carries "The Night Before" over the finish line. Drug freakouts are nothing new for the comedian’s repertoire, but his almost feature-length meltdown is a work of sweaty, bug-eyed beauty. Whether he’s panicking in a church pew, recording a crazed paranoid anti-baby rant in between coke hits or calmly inner-monologuing about a sexter, Rogen works his damnedest for every laugh – and he tends to get them. The formula may be a little tired, but Rogen shows no sign of losing life.

The final result is no new Christmas classic (though it may be the first Christmas movie with a dick pic; I’m too scared to confirm that with a Google search, though). It’s not even a Seth Rogen classic. But thanks to its star, "The Night Before" is entertaining enough to provide a little extra holiday cheer – and unlike his holiday release last year, no movie studios almost crumbled as a result.