Game Night
3 stars
Directors: John Francis Daley, Jonathan Goldstein
Stars: Jason Bateman, Rachel McAdams, Kyle Chandler
Duration: 100 mins
Class: 15
KRS Releasing Ltd
Max (Jason Bateman), his wife Annie (Rachel McAdams) and their close friends Kevin and Michelle (Lamorne Morris and Kylie Bunbury) and Ryan (Billy Magnussen) and whoever he is dating that week – this time the lucky lady is Sarah (Sharon Horgan) – meet up for their weekly games night, this time at Max’s brother Brooks’ place for a murder mystery party.
Brooks (Kyle Chandler) is loud, overbearing and very successful in business. So much so he has just bought himself Max’s dream car, much to the latter’s chagrin. Brooks promises Max and company a night that will outshine their weekly Pictionary/Charades/Monopoly nights of the past. So, when an ‘FBI Agent’ comes a-calling, the gang think it’s part of the fun and are suitably impressed by the armed hooligans who break in minutes later, knock out the agent, engage in bloody fisticuffs with Brooks and then drag him away semi-conscious.
It is certainly an impressive mise-en-scène, until it becomes clear that something is not quite right and the friends realise they need to become amateur sleuths to discover what is really going on.
The comedy includes just the right amount of action and romance
Game Night comes from the minds of directors Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley. They are the duo behind the two Horrible Bosses films (2011 and 2014), which is a good thing, given the originality and amiability of Horrible Bosses, or a bad given its very poor sequel. Thankfully they are on solid ground here and although the premise of the script written by Mark Perez is rather outlandish, its execution for the most part works. The comedy includes just the right amount of action and romance and the ensemble cast completely game as their sedate if competitive games night suddenly turns into something completely sinister.
It’s not as clever as it thinks it is, however, and when the is-it-a-game-or-is-it-real plot kicks in, the plot loses momentum notwithstanding the manic energy of car chases, bar fights, gunshot wounds that follow. The plethora of film references thrown in don’t always hit their mark (although Rachel McAdams channelling Amanda Plummer from Pulp Fiction is a high point).
The strongest aspect of the film is its ensemble cast, each of whom gets to make an impact. The characters are so well drawn that the ridiculousness of it all doesn’t really matter as they firmly nail the comedy, weak spots and all. The script does earn points for maintaining the characters’ competitive streak, each couple doing their uttermost to win even under the most dangerous of circumstances.
Bateman and McAdams share an easy sparkling chemistry and play off each other remarkably well from the moment they meet at a bar quiz night and bond over a Teletubbies question. If the subplot about their inability to have kids feels unnecessary, the actors more than make up for it with their combative and loving interplay throughout. Never has gunshot wound provided the basis for such a funny and romantic scene.
Morris and Bunbury share an amusing subplot – Kevin inadvertently discovering that Michelle was unfaithful one night early in their relationship and he spends the evening trying to find out with whom, leading to a spot-on Denzel Washington impersonation. The banter between dimwit Ryan and the superiorly intelligent Sarah is highly amusing. Kyle Chandler is clearly having fun as the charming yet overtly obnoxious Brooks. Yet, it is Jesse Plemons as Max and Annie’s clearly disturbed neighbour, a pathetic, lonely, recent divorced police officer, who steals every scene he is in.
Whether clutching his cute little West Highland terrier (that gets a scene-stealing, bloodstained scene of her own, courtesy of Max’s clumsiness) or begging with deadpan intensity to be a part of the group’s games night or just being at the right place at the right time, it is the best performance in the movie.