Game Night - Review
This review of Game Night is spoiler-free!
There used to be a time in Hollywood where a movie with Kyle Chandler and Jason Bateman meant people would flock to the theaters. That time was just last decade, but within the past few years, actors of this kind have faded into obscurity in favor of a new generation of stars. Now, when you see the old guard of actors like these two and others such as Vince Vaughn and Adam Sandler, you often end up seeing a film that is targetting an audience that really doesn't exist anymore. For me, I used to love the laugh out loud comedies produced with these stars because they were mindless fun for a younger me. Now as a... dare I say... adult, I find these kinds of comedies not as enjoyable. Somewhere along the way through, some directors have found a way to use these stars in new stories that while showing signs of the older generation of comedies, manage to be creative enough to attract new audiences. Game Night is one such film, so let's get into it!
Game Night follows the story of Max and Annie, a couple who found each other through their love of, obviously, game nights! When Brooks, Max's brother comes back into his life with the promise of an exciting new type of game night, they are left out of sorts. Deciding to appease Brooks, they move their weekly event to his house, only for things to awry as Brooks is kidnapped just as he is explaining the game. The competitors are then left to find him, and determine if these mysterious circumstances are part of the game or something more sinister. Game Night doesn't necessarily reinvent the wheel of comedy, using some stereotypical characters such as a dumb attractive male, and a common story trope of a sibling rivalry that inevitably will be fixed by the films end. But, that doesn't mean it can't be enjoyable. Game Night excels best when it does the unexpected or really leans into the comedic premise of the movie as a whole. When the movie tries to be more serious you really can't enjoy it, but the punches come often and almost always manage to hit.
Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams' Max and Annie are the stars of the show here, with great supporting work from Kyle Chandler and Jesse Plemons (the latter of which I will discuss in the following section). Jason Bateman, what can I really say about him, he has reached a point in his career where you know what you're getting in him and every role simply feels like Jason Bateman. He does what he is known for, and while I'm not upset by it I really wish we could see more variety from him. Rachel McAdams, on the other hand, has been showing her range as of late and seeing her tackle a heavily comedic film such as Game Night is a nice change of pace. She produces some of the best moments in the film, and often times her oblivious nature to the situation around her makes certain moments even better. Great work by McAdams in this role, showing a side of her not often seen on screen. Kyle Chandler feels like a bit of an unused actor, spending most of the film tied up or having to act with his body and not his voice. He's an antagonist in a sense, but often times gets forgotten in favor of other stories to be told. Seeming more like a MacGuffin than a true character, this role could have been played by a lot of people.
In Game Night, there's one true scene stealer that I can't go without mentioning: Jesse Plemons. Playing the next door neighbor, Gary Kingsbury, he manages to steal nearly every scene he is a part of. With most of his comedy being delivered either in a form of dry wit or deadpan, I couldn't help but crack up nearly every time he was on screen (along with the rest of the theater). For a film focused so heavily on a character story for Bateman's Max, it was nice to see so much time spent building stories around the supporting character. Plemons is simply the most notable of the group to have this increased presence. By the end of the film, you realize just how important Kingsbury is to the story and it makes all of the moments preceding that much better.
When I think about this movie as a whole, I actually found it to be a fun film to just go out to the theater and enjoy. This is the type of movie that goes over extremely well in a group setting, producing a lot of laughs out loud moments using actors in some new and some old means. While Game Night doesn't necessarily reinvent the comedic wheel, it does just enough to stand out amongst a crowd of similar films. Along with this, it manages to incorporate a rather large amount of twists into its story just as you think you have everything figured out, and that makes it that much better. If you find yourself wanting to go to the theater, but have already seen the major releases as of late, don't hesitate to go see Game Night. Just don't overdo your expectations, because you'll end up disappointed.
