Game Night

This review may contain spoilers!

It's a quirky film at it's best moments but the sheer absurdity of the plot doesn't make for a very good comedy film. I would give Game Night a 3.5/10.

This film has some incredibly quirky characters who are pretty unique and comical in their own respective ways, they have these personalities that fairly convincing yet escalate to absurdity so naturally which is nothing short of entertaining to watch. This film isn't shy about being absurd and escalating an already crazy situation into something utterly manic, the antics throughout don't always make for a great plot but are most certainly fun. The score for the film is really light and has a nice intense pace that keeps the action tone of the film at play throughout; the comedic use of the soundtrack really makes some scenes stand out.

Jason Bateman, who played Max, has a great wry wit throughout the feature; Bateman's exasperated mundane persona fits so well in this escalated, ludicrous plot. Rachel McAdams, who played Annie, is a comedic powerhouse and really steals the show throughout the film; McAdams' competitive streak and natural chemistry with Bateman make her such a fun performance to watch. Lamorne Morris and Kylie Bunbury, who played Kevin and Michelle respectively, have such natural chemistry whether it's as an onscreen couple or when they're bickering together; there's a lot of bouncing off of one another and the comedic dialogue comes hard and fast from these two. Jeffrey Wright, who played Murder Mystery Actor, is such a brilliant cameo used well in this film; Wright does a great job at playing an actor who hams up the genuine murder mystery element of the film quite a bit.

However, the best performance came from Jesse Plemons, who played Gary. This is a very monotone, quite intentionally unnerving role who will have you in stitches every scene he's in. Plemons has such intensity in his delivery, making what can feel like normal mundane conversation creepy and imposing. The way this character is fixated on his former ex-wife and desire to be a part of his friends' games night again is so extreme and when the big reveal for this role comes it's beyond a shadow of a doubt the best scene of the film.

This film really pushes things over the top particularly quickly, it's hard to believe just how outlandish and absurdly the plot escalates. The development of events don't often follow along very smoothly and the events of the film don't link together well. Frankly the fact this whole feature becomes some big action/crime story is ridiculous and the film never really justifies that aspect of itself well which lets down most of the storytelling. Beyond that, the characters don't actually connect very well together, beyond a couple of roles a majority of the cast of characters never have their relationships with the others explained. The cinematography in the film shows off some nice establishing shots but for the most part, lacks creativity, the arrangement of shots is very simple to the demands of each scene. The editing follows suit and often the pacing of the film is very slow despite the story escalating quite quickly.

Kyle Chandler, who played Brooks, is such a sleazy dislikeable role that it's hard to ever understand him or find him redeemable; Chandler also isn't very convincing as Bateman's brother and the pair feel quite detached from one another. Sharon Horgan, who played Sarah, is a role that is in this film for a lot longer than makes sense; the entire film she's questioned as to why she's stuck around for this long and it's a question I'm still asking as an audience member come to the end of the film. Billy Magnussen, who played Ryan, plays a goofy and quite debasing role; he's hard to like and his chemistry with Horgan is one of the most unfulfilling subplots of the entire feature. Michael C. Hall, who played The Bulgarian, is a disappointing reveal as the final antagonist of the feature; Hall's not very intimidating and he's quite a stereotypical 'mob boss' type role. Danny Huston, who played Donald Anderton, seems to be typecast as scary aggressive guys who hold power over others; Huston's role is only really in the feature to fulfil a long-running gag introduced earlier in the story. Chelsea Peretti, who played Glenda, is a minor role who is purely there to deliver some needed exposition; Peretti's seriously underused for someone who usually steals the show in a comedic setting.