Game Night

The reviews were favorable for 2018's GAME NIGHT, moreso than I would've expected for another comedy starring Jason Bateman, who has made a latter day career out of playing detached caustics.  This is the sort of contemporary thing I would've blissfully avoided and forgotten about had it not been for so many good notices.  Even some of the harsh cineastes I follow on Letterboxd had to admit this was a well crafted sleeper.  OK, I thought, I'll give it a shot.  But I was in no hurry.  On a nine hour flight back back from London, I finally caught it. Yeah, I guess "they" were right.

But expectedly, it's still representative of a typical early 21st century American yukfest, somewhat dark. Albeit with far less mean spiritedness and raunch than usual, even with a gag involving the attempts to give oneself a blow job.  GAME NIGHT is fairly clever, too, with a plot that some viewers might take as a parody of David Fincher's wildly overrated film THE GAME; I'm not entirely sure about that.   Mark Perez's script does quite predictably involve fake outs, even if the fake outs themselves are not necessarily predictable.

Max (Bateman) and Annie (Rachel McAdams) host a weekly "game night" at their home.  They are ultra competitive, easily beating their circle of regulars, one of whom brings a different date each week, usually a dimbulb.  But Max's brother Brooks (Kyle Chandler) is even more competitive - in the game of life.  He drives fancy cars and lives the high life Max does not.  Could Max's inferior complex be the reason why his sperm is not giving he and Annie a baby? Brooks arrives from overseas and decides to host his own game night, one of those elaborate murder mystery role playing kind.  It all seems extremely convincing, especially when two guys in masks show up and kidnap Brooks.  Well, that's 'cause they're not part of the game.

GAME NIGHT follows the others as they attempt to locate Brooks, believing the entire thing is part of the show.  This leads to arrogant posturing in front of real, dangerous criminals.  But also some enjoyable moments when the characters track clues, real and phony, to solve the case.  Each player is drawn nicely, including a married couple who bicker over the wife's one nighter (before they were married) with a famous stud.  The identity (or not) of this individual and how this bit is developed is one of the most amusing gags in the movie.  There's also Gary (Jesse Plemmons), Max and Annie's odd policeman neighbor, who provides several of GAME NIGHT's biggest smiles.

Directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein have indeed produced a highly enjoyable action comedy that is far less obnoxious than many others of its time, many of which star Bateman, who yes, does his usual shtick here.  But McAdams is something else.  She in fact portrays one of the most adorable and appealing characters I can recall ever seeing in a movie of this sort.