Game Night Review

Synopsis
Max (Jason Bateman) and Annie (Rachel McAdams) host a weekly game night with their friends. When Max’s brother (Kyle Chandler) offers to host game night, the group finds themselves solving a murder mystery like they never expected.

Review
When I first saw the trailer for Game Night and saw it starred Jason Bateman, Rachel McAdams, and Lamorne Morris (aka New Girl’s Winston (aka my favorite character)), and the ridiculous premise, I was sold. I like comedies and I like movies that take a regular event, like a weekly, friendly gathering to play board games, and turns it on its head. And I have to say, I was not disappointed.

Sometimes in films with larger casts, some characters might be eclipsed or feel unnecessary. However, in this movie, no one character ever really outshined another. Every character felt unique, bringing something different to the film both in terms of comedy and character arc. In comedies, characters can feel the same. Again, not here. Big props to the casting director who brought this group of actors and actresses together. Everyone worked well together as couples and as a large group. It reminds me a little of Ocean’s Eleven where the cast just works so well together and has great on-screen chemistry, elevating the movie further than the script could alone.

Speaking of the script, the script was tighter than it is in most comedies. It was funny when it needed to be, focused on the action when it was supposed to, and let the character moments take front and center when necessary. It balanced all aspects of the film, never feeling rushed nor drawn out. To go with what I said above, every character had their place, each couple had their own arc besides the main story arc, and at running at just above an hour and a half, they all felt complete.

As great as the script was, the cast was even better. I’m a big fan of Jason Bateman and and even bigger fan of Rachel McAdams. The two of them are absolute magic together. Not surprising, Lamorne Morris was one of my favorites in the film. He brings the same sense of humor that makes his character of Winston in New Girl so lovable. Besides them, I didn’t know much of the rest of the cast going into the movie but I thought they all were great. Billy Magnussen as the not-quite-as-smart one in the group might have been my favorite of those I was less familiar with.

I thought Game Night was GREAT 😀 From the very beginning, this film had me laughing and it never stopped. Every character had their place in the story and the entire cast worked great together, in their pairs and in the overall group. And the tight script only elevates the great cast. It may be early in the year but I foresee this being one of my favorite comedies of 2018.

Trailer

Cast & Crew
John Francis Daley – Director
Jonathan Goldstein – Director
Mark Perez – Writer
Cliff Martinez – Composer

Jason Bateman – Max
Rachel McAdams – Annie
Kyle Chandler – Brooks
Sharon Horgan – Sarah
Billy Magnussen – Ryan
Lamorne Morris – Kevin
Kylie Bunbury – Michelle
Jesse Plemons – Gary
Michael C. Hall – The Bulgarian
Danny Huston – Donald Anderton
Chelsea Peretti – Glenda
Camille Chen – Dr. Chin
Zerrick Williams – Val
RF Daley – Tats
John Francis Daley – Carter
Michael Cyril Creighton – Bill
Brooke Jaye Taylor – Linda
Jonathan Goldstein – Dan