Hello, I Want to Play a Game

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By Tom Pacak


“Game Night” a film about game-loving couples who engage in a dangerous game of violence and mayhem feels like a breath of fresh air for the comedy genre. Comedies now and days are really hard to do. They’re either hit or miss. “Game Night” hits most of its targets. It’s dark, smart, and above all laugh out loud funny. The only thing directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein (Horrible Bosses), and writer Mark Perez take seriously about this story is making it as over the top as possible. It starts out rather tame, but once the plot twists start hitting the fan it becomes hilariously ridiculous (in a good way). 

The main couple Max and Annie (Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams) got married after discovering the drive each other has to win pointless games like Scrabble and Pictionary. They host weekly game nights with their friends Ryan (Bill Magnussen) the dumb friend, Sarah (Sharon Horgan) Ryan’s British date who is ten times smarter than him, married couple Kevin and Michelle (Larmorne Morris and Kylie Bunbury), and Max’s successful brother Brooks (Kyle Chandler), who Max is extremely jealous over. I would like to see these couples take on Jigsaw in one of his sinister games.

Deciding to host game night at his rental mansion, Brooks steps it up by doing something completely different. His version of game night: A murder mystery. The goal of the game is to find out who kidnapped Brooks and find him. Winner of the game gets Brooks’ fancy Stingray.

The fun starts with the “supposed” robbers knocking out the fake FBI director (great cameo by Jeffrey Wright), beating the crap out of Brooks, and then adducting him. All thinking this is apart of the game, the group just watches in amusement. After somebody is shot in the arm and discovering an underground fight club (oops broke the first rule), the group realizes that this game is actually the real deal. They find out that a Faberge egg was sold to the wrong customer and they must deliver it to the right one. 

The first film that I thought of immediately while watching “Game Night” was David Fincher’s 1997 film, “The Game.” “The Game” is a movie about a rich guy (Michael Douglas) who learns the importance of family and life when a paid corporation messes with his financial and family life. “Game Night” feels like a comedy version of that film. During this violent and unpredictable journey, the group discovers that they are a family that loves one another. Game night is the only form of escapism that these couples have.

Bateman and McAdams are very convincing as a loving couple that really wants the best out of each other. They are able to understand where each one is coming from while debating family life. Max’s inability to conceive is also very relatable with the subplot on sibling rivalry between Brooks and Max.  I loved watching these two actors bond. They're a great team! 

Even the other couples in the film get comedic moments. Watching Sarah call out Ryan for his pure stupidity is one of the film’s best assets. There’s even a subplot about a celebrity hookup involving the couple of Kevin and Michelle that goes in a direction you would least expect. Danny Huston and Dexter’s Michael C. Hall are a blast playing the film's bad boys. The real scene stealer here is Jesse Plemons as Gary, the creepy and humorless police officer who has a weird obsession with playing games.  Be careful, this cop isn't who he says he is. None of these characters are predictable whatsoever and that’s the fun of it. Watching them play games with each other while learning valuable lessons about life and family is what makes “Game Night” shine. Here’s one most adults can enjoy.



Rating: 3.5 out of 4 stars

Note: Now on Bluray and Demand



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