Have I mentioned that comedies are my favorite genre? And what's ironic is that I rarely see them considering how banal and gross and unoriginal they are. Anymore, comedies are a total waste of celluloid, so I have a tendency to skip them. Well, after I saw my first trailer of "Game Night", I thought this film had potential, and my gut was correct.
Max (Jason Bateman) and Annie's (Rachel McAdams) weekly game night gets kicked up a notch when Max's brother Brooks (Kyle Chandler) arranges a murder mystery party-- complete with fake thugs and federal agents. So when Brooks gets kidnapped, it's all supposed to be part of the game. As the competitor's set out to solve the case, they soon start to learn that neither the game nor Brooks are what they seem to be. The friends, including Ryan (Billy Rasmussen), Sarah (Sharon Horgan), Kevin (Lamorne Morris) and Michelle (Kylie Bunbury) soon find themselves in over their heads as each twist leads to another unexpected turn over the course of one chaotic night.
Others to round out the cast are Jesse Plemons as Gary, Michael C. Hall as The Bulgarian, Danny Huston as Donald Anderton, Chelsea Peretti as Glenda and Camille Chen as Dr. Chin.
This was effectively directed by John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein ("Vacation" '15) plus shorts. Direction wise, these filmmakers don't have a plethora of experience in the director's chair, however they know the way around actors and how to get them to bring certain characters to life. Through these character developments, they all have a distinct personality so in order to connect with the other actors and this is talented directing. Their next projects that have been announced are "Vacation Guide to the Solar System" and "Flashpoint" '20. It was creatively written by Mark Perez ("Frank McKlusky C.I." '02, "The Country Bears" '02, "Herbie Fully Loaded" (story) '05, "Accepted" '06, "Back Nine" (TV movie) '10) plus TV. What makes this unique, as compared to the usual formulaic format, is the idea of it being an action adventure with a mystery overtone and an underlying screwball style that I haven't seen in a comedy in a long time. This does have a couple of places of very small slow areas, otherwise this storyline rocks. Both Bateman and McAdams' chemistry was funny and inviting. I simply never tire of Bateman's powder dry style of humor, and even though he has a tendency to play similar characters in his comedies, they are still humorous. He's one of a few actors that succeeds in both comedy and dramatic roles.
As comedies go, this has got to be one of the best I've seen in a while. It has everything to keep its audience on the edge of their seats: action, adventure, mystery, humor, and all tied up with a funny and original script by Perez and spot on performances by Bateman and McAdams. Grab the popcorn and enjoy!
Out of 4 Stars: 3.5 Rated: R 100mins.
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