Game Night | Film Review

There are few types of films I personally love more than mysteries; a solid whodunit can effortlessly turn this frown upside down. Unfortunately, in our modern age of whiz-bang effects and amped up storytelling, the concept of a leisurely paced movie following an amateur detective as he or she solves a crime is almost as rare as catching a live pink flamingo on Rodeo Drive. And a witty, comedic take on crime solving with a gaggle of friends at the center? Well, that’s like catching a unicorn in your bathroom. Which – unless you’re heavy into cosplay – is pretty rare. So, now you understand my trepidation walking into Game Night.

Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams star as Max and Annie, an adorable couple brought together by each other’s insatiable need to win. Game Night opens with Max meeting Annie for the first time, and then follows them through various competitions with friends until they finally arrive at the now. A happily married couple, Max and Annie are struggling with conceiving. Their fertility doctor believes that Max’s ongoing competition with his brother Brooks’ success is a contributing factor to this predicament.

Every week, Max and Annie host several friends – Ryan, Kevin, Michelle, and whatever date Ryan brings that week – for a game night. Charades, Clue, Life, whatever the game, they each return weekly to stomp the competition. Well, everyone except their cop neighbor Gary (Jesse Plemons). Ever since Gary split from his wife, he’s been excluded from game night because, well, they liked Pam better.

Brooks (Kyle Chandler) arrives back in town and demands game night is held at his house this week, as he plans to take things to a new level. Once the players arrive, the setup is simple: one of them will be kidnapped, and it will be left to the players to find out where they are being held and rescue them. Shortly after, Brooks is snatched in a ridiculously overdone tussle, which everyone believes to be part of the game. But is it? As they each chase after their respective clues, it becomes apparent this kidnapping might not be staged after all. In fact, Brooks’ life very well might be in danger if this Scooby gang cannot put it all together in time.

The key to a film like this is nailing a cast that can sell your story regardless of how far-fetched it might seem at times. Or for the entirety. Bateman and McAdams prove a perfect pair to carry us through this madness, as their fierce competition is only rivaled by their mutual love and admiration for each other. In real life, these types of people can often be insufferable louts, with their constant rule checking (steered toward their personal benefit of course) and non-stop disregard for everyone else’s joy in service of their own desperate goal of dominance. Thankfully, it’s pretty damn difficult to dislike these two.

Almost as compelling are Kevin and Michelle (Lamorne Morris and Kylie Bunbury), wrestling with a revelation brought about by a dreaded drinking game while they comb the city for Brooks. And then there’s Ryan (Billy Magnussen), the buffoon of the group. Typically, Ryan shows up with a young hottie, opting instead for Sarah (Sharon Horgan), an intelligent Irish woman who stands to finally help him win a game. Magnussen has many of the film’s best lines, and the sincerity with which he delivers these are often applause worthy.

But the true standout in this eclectic cast is Jesse Plemons. Ever since catapulting into the zeitgeist with his pivotal role in Breaking Bad, Plemons has emerged as the latest “that guy in that thing” actor which Sam Rockwell held firmly until recently. Gary is a tragically sad character, left by his true love and abandoned by his friends, while simultaneously delivering each word of dialogue in the most sinisterly uproarious way possible. He’s that creepy friend we all have and feverishly attempt to avoid.

As our couples race around the city slapping clues together, directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein (Horrible Bosses, Spider-Man: Homecoming) breathe kinetic energy into Mark Perez’s witty script, keeping the pacing tight and the humor – however absurd – grounded in some semblance of reality. There are several clever surprises along the way, even for us veterans of the mystery genre. And after a drought of quality comedies over the past couple of years, it was refreshing to walk into a film like this and not only have your expectations met, but exceeded with numerous scenes that had me snorting and giggling in the aisle. Bonus points to the duo for several brilliant fade-in shots presenting various locations as game boards, and for one of the most expertly choreographed scenes – let’s just say it involves an egg toss – I’ve witnessed in some time.

By the end, if you think about it too much, you can probably poke holes into the framework. But why would you want to? This is sheer entertainment, and that smile never left my face once the film kicked into gear. Clue is the high-water mark for me in the subgenre of mystery comedies, and while it might not have quite reached that monumental achievement of hijinks versus thrills, Game Night is one unicorn that definitely scratches that itch.

*Editor’s Note: Be sure to remain through the credits for yet another mystery solved