‘Game Night’ is screwball comedy that actually works

Game Night is a very rare movie that is both clever and hilarious. Oscar award nominee, Rachel McAdams (Spotlight, The Notebook) steals the show in this fast-paced, witty and rewarding comedy. The whole cast is a great fit for the insanity that ensues when a murder mystery party does not go exactly as planned.

We follow Max (Jason Bateman, Horrible Bosses) and his wife Annie (McAdams) — a highly competitive couple. Having met at a trivia night and hit it off, they get married and now, every week, they host a weekly game night (think Scrabble, Charades etc.) at their house. Their best friends regularly join them.

On one particular game night, Max’s charming, wealthy venture capitalist — and even more competitive older brother — Brooks (Kyle Chandler, Argo) bursts uninvited into their residence. There’s a lot of sibling rivalry between the brothers and when he arrives at Max’s home driving Max’s dream car — a fire-engine red Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Coupe, the game becomes personal. Brooks announces to the group that would like to host next week’s game night and promises them it will be a murder-mystery they won’t forget.

Things begin to spiral downward once play of the murder-mystery begins. There are secrets and lies, and identities are questioned. The twists and turns in Game Night never fail to excite. The script was clever and the scenes were action-packed.

Perhaps the film’s greatest achievement is its cast. McAdams and Bateman have incredible comedic timing and are perfect opposite one another as husband and wife. The supporting cast are equally as impressive, never appearing to be ‘carried along’ amongst the chaos and comedy. However, the relationship Max and Annie have with Gary (Jesse Plemons) is worthy of a special mention.

Plemons’s character is the hilariously creepy, divorced policeman who lives next door to Max and Annie. He has been deliberately not invited to any of the game nights since he and his wife Debbie split because she was the one everyone actually liked. It’s fair to say that Plemons steals every scene he is in, espeically with the company of his furry companion, and provide just the right amount of weirdness that makes this film so much fun.

Game Night would have to be one of the best comedies I’ve seen in years, and given that comedy (and especially American comdey) is not my preferred film genre, that says something.

ROK’S RATINGS: 4 glasses of bubbly

Rated: MA15+
Genre: Comedy, Mystery and Suspense
Directed by: John Francis Daley, Jonathan M. Goldstein
Written by: Mark Perez
Release date: February 23, 2018
Production: New Line Cinema, RatPac-Dune Entertainment, Davis Entertainment, Aggregate Films

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