It’s no secret that the live-action comedy has taken a hit at the box office. Sure we have recent successful examples such as Pitch Perfect 3, Daddy’s Home 2, and Girls Trip but before these releases the industry made it known that the genre was on life support due to a string of critical and box office failures. The problem with the comedies that didn’t work was that they didn’t fully embrace their premise. The hard R-rated comedy would sometimes tack on a cheesy moral at the end and some comedies slipped into forced melodrama to give their characters some depth. Sometimes I just want a comedy to be funny and not try so hard to deliver a message.
This is why Game Night is so refreshing. It goes full throttle with its premise and focuses on the ridiculous nature of it without missing a beat. The character building is done through the comedy and most importantly, it knows exactly what it is. Co-directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein never forget that this is a comedy and we are in the theater to laugh. Thankfully this is exactly what they deliver and it ends up being a pleasant surprise.
The film introduces us to a group of five friends who gather together regularly for game nights – events where they play everything from RISK to Monopoly to Charades. Max (Jason Bateman) and Annie (Rachel McAdams) are a happily married, middle-class suburban couple whose romance was fueled by their mutual competitiveness. They are joined by another husband-and-wife, Kevin (Lamorne Morris) and Michelle (Kylie Bunbury), and Annie’s dim single friend, Ryan (Billy Magnussen). Every week, Ryan brings another girl with him. This time, it’s the surprisingly sharp Sarah (Sharon Horgan), an Irish lass who adds a dash of class to the proceedings. Also participating is Max’s overachieving brother, Brooks (Kyle Chandler), who has to do everything better, stronger, and faster than his sibling. Finally, on the outside looking in is the dour police officer next door, Gary (Jesse Plemons), whose lifeless personality has resulted in his no longer being invited. He wants nothing more than for those invitations to resume – even if he has to do something extreme to ensure it Not a fan of “bored” games, Brooks concocts something bigger and bolder. Based loosely on the concept of a murder mystery dinner party, the rules call for someone to be kidnapped and the rest of the participants to compete to rescue him/her. Unfortunately, when the goons come for Brooks, it turns out there’s a real kidnapping. So, while two couples are following false clues, Max and Annie chase down the men who have taken Brooks and, still thinking it’s all in fun, charge in with guns (literally) blazing. Only when Max is shot do they realize that more than the game may be afoot.
The dark comedy can be hard to pull off. Last summer Rough Night tried to go dark with its dead stripper premise and was only moderately successful (others hated it and it bombed at the box office). Game Night falls into the dark comedy category but Game Night makes it work because it balances solid comedy with the darker elements. When Max is shot it’s “serious” but effectively played for laughs due to solid writing and game performances from its cast. The best thing about any comedy is if the performers understand the tone and thankfully all involved do.
Although the screenplay isn’t a masterpiece of deception, it offers a few clever twists that give the actors material to work with and the directors an opportunity to play with the audience. Some of the narrative contortions are predictable but at least one may not be and, even if you guess all the surprises, Game Night is sufficiently funny that this wouldn’t be a major drawback. I haven’t had many “surprises” from a comedy in awhile but the ones presented here were surprisingly fresh.
Along with the clever writing and direction, the comedic acting is probably Game Night’s biggest asset. Jason Bateman had an excellent everyman quality that works for the role and he definitely gets laughs. Bateman has worked with these directors before on Horrible Bosses and it’s clear that this part was written with him in mind. Rachel McAdams is also game in her role and makes her remember that she’s capable of delivering laughs when called upon. She shares an effortless chemistry with Bateman that makes their scenes together click. Jesse Plemons steals scenes as the glowering Gary; we can never decide whether he’s malevolent or simply unimaginative and the film does a good job of giving us just enough of him to avoid causing an overdose.
As stated before a lot of comedies fall apart in the third act with a cheesy morality tale or acts of redemption but Game Night manages to avoid this. Although it ties up most of the loose ends, it maintains its sense of humor while poking fun at the overused concept of redemption. Most importantly, it stays funny up until the end and gives you more hope for the live-action comedy after a few recent missteps.
