A Night at the Roxbury (1998)
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Two brothers obsessed with a legendary nightclub attempt to gain entry while navigating their dysfunctional family dynamics.
The story
Steve and Doug Butabi are brothers who spend their leisure time frequenting nightclubs, where they bob their heads in unison to Eurodance and fail to pick up women. Their ultimate goal is to party at the Roxbury, a fabled Los Angeles nightclub where they are continually denied entry by a hulking bouncer. By day, they work at an artificial plant store owned by their wealthy father, Kamehl. After a day at the beach, the brothers decide they will finally get into the Roxbury that night, leading to a heated argument with their father over their plans.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Steve and Doug Butabi are brothers who spend their leisure time frequenting nightclubs, bobbing their heads to Eurodance and failing to pick up women. They dream of entering the fabled Los Angeles nightclub, the Roxbury, but are repeatedly denied by a bouncer. They work at their father Kamehl's artificial plant store, where the parents hope Steve and Emily Sanderson will marry to unite their businesses. After a fight with their father over clubbing, the brothers are given outdated phones and a delivery van by their mother. They are denied entry to the Roxbury again but eventually get in after a fender-bender with a famous man, Richard Grieco, who uses his fame to get them inside. There, they meet the owner, Benny Zadir, who likes their idea for a nightclub. They also meet two women, Vivica and Cambi, who believe the brothers are rich. After a brief fling and a falling out, the brothers reconcile. Steve is forced into an engagement with Emily, but the wedding is interrupted by Doug. Their friend Craig marries Emily instead. Finally, the brothers find a new club that matches their previous pitch to Zadir; they are told they are on the list and discover Zadir has made them part-owners. They end the film dancing with their 'Credit Vixen' and a police officer.
- First release year
- 1998
- Runtime (minutes)
- 82
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- John Fortenberry
- Writers
- Will Ferrell · writer; Chris Kattan · writer; Steve Koren · writer
- Cast and characters
- Will Ferrell · Steve Butabi; Chris Kattan · Doug Butabi; Loni Anderson · Barbara Butabi; Dan Hedaya · Kamehl Butabi; Molly Shannon · Emily Sanderson; Dwayne Hickman · Fred Sanderson; Maree Cheatham · Mabel Sanderson; Lochlyn Munro · Craig
- Genres
- buddy comedy
- Themes
- Brotherhood; Ambition; Social Status
- Tone and mood
- Comedic; Pathetic; Lovable
- Premise and plot tags
- Buddy Comedy; Clubbing; Family Conflict
- Source material / true-story basis
- A recurring sketch on television's long-running Saturday Night Live called "The Roxbury Guys".
- Franchise connections
- Saturday Night Live films
- Reception
- The film received negative reviews from critics but was viewed more favorably by general audiences. It was described as 'undeniably pathetic but strangely lovable' by The New York Times, while Roger Ebert noted the characters were 'the joke' of a 'one-joke movie'.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 26 · scale: 100 · review count: 14; Rotten Tomatoes · score: 69%
- Production trivia
- The Roxbury was a real Los Angeles-area nightclub that closed in 1997.; The exterior shots of The Roxbury were actually filmed at a club formerly known as Billboard Live.; The Mayan Theater in downtown Los Angeles served as the Roxbury's interior.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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