Good comedies come down to good premises with fresh ideas and "Game Night" offers exactly that. Something of a comedic version of David Fincher's 1997 thriller "The Game," a group of friends who get together for regular game nights agree to up the stakes with a kidnapping mystery that suddenly becomes a little too real.
Directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein wrote another one of the more original comedies of the decade in 2011's "Horrible Bosses" and though Mark Perez ("Accepted") gets sole credit for the script, they clearly did rewrites: "Game Night" shares a similarly playful yet dark tone. In fact, bouncing between a breezy comedy and a high stakes thriller is their huge accomplishment with this movie.
No one needed another Jason Bateman-led upper-middle class comedy, but the ultra-competitive Max (Bateman) and Annie (Rachel McAdams) slightly tilt from the norm. Their in-between newlyweds and parents stage of married life in which they host game nights and try to avoid telling their odd neighbor (the impeccable Jesse Plemons) about them has a high relatability factor. Although the trend is more strategy-based table top games these days as opposed to charades and Pictionary, the spirit is in the right place that the social dynamic at play feels familiar.
The action starts when Kyle Chandler comes into town as Max's "legendary" older brother and convinces the crew to get behind the lifelike mystery. After the kidnapping occurs, Perez recognizes the audience is completely aware of the main conceit of his film: figuring out what's a game and what's real. Wisely, he toys with us, giving the story some unexpected and fun turns.
"Game Night" jumps in and out of violence and levity, with Daley and Goldstein finding creative ways to give some juice to the action sequences, including a game of "hot potato" that appears to be done in a single take and some ordinary contextual shots done in closeups to create a humorous intensity (like shots Edgar Wright used in "Shaun of the Dead"). They also use these overhead/distance shots that make the characters and setting look like a gameboard and pieces.
These little touches don't make the film a better comedy, but they bring a creativity films like this often need. There also several references to games and movies that also contribute to its unique energy. Casting all that aside, however, the dialogue is tight and clever and that humor drives "Game Night" too. Not every character is as well-realized and acted as Plemons' Gary, but the ensemble has enough of the right pieces to play the comedy game competitively, especially compared to most of today's comedies
~Steven C
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Directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein wrote another one of the more original comedies of the decade in 2011's "Horrible Bosses" and though Mark Perez ("Accepted") gets sole credit for the script, they clearly did rewrites: "Game Night" shares a similarly playful yet dark tone. In fact, bouncing between a breezy comedy and a high stakes thriller is their huge accomplishment with this movie.
No one needed another Jason Bateman-led upper-middle class comedy, but the ultra-competitive Max (Bateman) and Annie (Rachel McAdams) slightly tilt from the norm. Their in-between newlyweds and parents stage of married life in which they host game nights and try to avoid telling their odd neighbor (the impeccable Jesse Plemons) about them has a high relatability factor. Although the trend is more strategy-based table top games these days as opposed to charades and Pictionary, the spirit is in the right place that the social dynamic at play feels familiar.
The action starts when Kyle Chandler comes into town as Max's "legendary" older brother and convinces the crew to get behind the lifelike mystery. After the kidnapping occurs, Perez recognizes the audience is completely aware of the main conceit of his film: figuring out what's a game and what's real. Wisely, he toys with us, giving the story some unexpected and fun turns.
"Game Night" jumps in and out of violence and levity, with Daley and Goldstein finding creative ways to give some juice to the action sequences, including a game of "hot potato" that appears to be done in a single take and some ordinary contextual shots done in closeups to create a humorous intensity (like shots Edgar Wright used in "Shaun of the Dead"). They also use these overhead/distance shots that make the characters and setting look like a gameboard and pieces.
These little touches don't make the film a better comedy, but they bring a creativity films like this often need. There also several references to games and movies that also contribute to its unique energy. Casting all that aside, however, the dialogue is tight and clever and that humor drives "Game Night" too. Not every character is as well-realized and acted as Plemons' Gary, but the ensemble has enough of the right pieces to play the comedy game competitively, especially compared to most of today's comedies
~Steven C
Thanks for reading! Visit Movie Muse Reviews for more