Image courtesy of wallpapercave.com
Hello, everyone. I realize it's been at least a month and a half (coming up on two months) since I posted something, as well as since the last review, which was for Annihilation.
The reason why I'm behind is something I mentioned in the previous post, but for those who came in late, I'll mention it here as well, because it started the day after I saw the subject of this review. I had been having some medical issues for almost a month, and it got to where I ended up having surgery. Since coming home, I have needed time to recover from it.
Now, I think I'm in good enough condition to where I can get back to the reviews. As the first of several catch-up ones, this review will be covering Game Night.
The plot follows several couples who have a game night every weekend, among which are hosts Max (Jason Bateman) and Annie (Rachel McAdams). However, on one such occasion, Max's more successful brother Brooks (Kyle Chandler) arrives, and he decides to change things up: this time, the game centers around a murder-mystery, and each couple has to work as a team to solve it.
What Worked: As always, the first thing to talk about is the cast. They all have excellent chemistry with each other, especially Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams. It's surprising how Rachel McAdams is able to figure out how to retort to Jason Bateman's comedic timing as quickly as she does. There were three standouts for me, and she was one of them. The other two were Lamorne Morris (primarily known for "New Girl") as Kevin, one of their friends, and the best character in the movie: Jesse Plemons as Gary, the neighbor. Although one could argue that Rachel McAdams steals the show here, he ultimately does. He's hilarious in this. Also, Kyle Chandler is really good, too, selling how Brooks may have been more successful than Max, but that doesn't mean he's smarter than him. He does make some very irrational choices, but that aspect of his character has a legitimate purpose and drives the plot along in a way that makes sense.
The plot is actually an interesting idea, even more so for a comedy. How it's executed works very well, because it goes so far as to have transitions (look out for this as you watch the movie) where the camera is panned out, and the setting's appearance is similar to that of a game board, and the people and cars are the pieces. I thought that was a nice touch, as well as very clever. They make the direction, which is already really good, stand out that much more.
The direction comes courtesy of John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, who, aside from previously directing Vacation, are primarily writers, having contributed to writing Spider-Man: Homecoming. Most notably, however, they wrote Horrible Bosses. This movie has that feel to it at points with the tone, because both are dark comedies; the concept you'd least expect to be really funny actually is.
Speaking of funny, the majority of the humor works here. The directors did not also write this, but as with the tone, it feels like they did. It also applies to the cast's comedic timing because it's similar to how Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis, and Charlie Day were able to play off each other so well in Horrible Bosses. The small amount of humor that didn't work is something that I will get to in a moment.
Now for the biggest positive for me before I do: the music. The score here is great, incorporating synth that makes it feel quite similar to 80s music, like the score for Thor: Ragnarok did. What made the music the biggest positive for me with that movie is overall the same case here: using a song from an iconic rock band at the beginning and at the end. The only differences are which band, and that this one uses two different songs. The one used in the beginning stood out to me because as soon as I heard it, the movie automatically started on a high note* by using one of my all-time favorites**, a song where you can use it for anything and it still works, and that is Queen's "Don't Stop Me Now." If nothing else, the music was my biggest positive because of that song alone.
What Didn't Work: There were a couple issues I had. The main one is that as much as I love making references, of which there are plenty here (especially movie references), I did feel like the amount they had could have been slightly dialed back. They were still funny, but there were times where it became a bit excessive.
Aside from that, the only real issue is that in the third act, it gets a little too absurd, but then by the end, it balances back out.
Overall: Game Night is a rare example of an R-rated comedy that's actually good, especially considering how the majority of recent ones have not even been sub-par. It's one that takes a similar approach to Horrible Bosses, because it feels as if genuine effort was put into it, like presenting an interesting new concept. It also helps that the cast have perfect comedic timing with each other. It's not groundbreaking or anything, but it's not meant to be. It's meant to be more of a fun comedy that'll actually give you more than a few laughs, especially if you're into certain aspects of popular culture like I am. Because of how good it actually is, Game Night is one of the biggest surprises of 2018. It may not end up being the best comedy of the year (we'll just have to wait and see on that one), but it certainly is so far.
One more thing: there is a post-credits scene that ties back to something mentioned earlier in the movie. Since it's a comedy, expect it to be more of an amusing one.
*No pun intended.
**Also used in Shaun of the Dead and Hardcore Henry; while not quite as effectively incorporated as in those two movies, the fact that it was used here I still count as a positive.