FilmSnobReviews

Title: Game Night
MPAA Rating: R
Director: John Francis Daley, Jonathan Goldstein
Starring: Jason Bateman, Rachel McAdams, Kyle Chandler
Runtime: 1 hr 40 mins

What It Is: Married couple Max (Bateman) and Annie (McAdams) are both really good at games. When the two meet and eventually marry they are an unstoppable force on game night. When Max’ older brother Brooks (Chandler) shows up it brings up all manner of insecurity in Max. When Brooks plans a murder mystery game night something goes horribly wrong. Now Brooks has been kidnapped and Max and Annie don’t understand the danger they are currently in.

What We Think: Going in I’d heard great things about the film. Leaving it I felt it was just…pretty good. When the jokes work they work really well the problem for me was that often times they didn’t work or weren’t that funny. Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams have amazing chemistry as a married couple. For me, Lamorne Morris provided some of the funniest moments. The writing is pretty good, and the pacing surprisingly well put together. As R-rated comedies go this one certainly does a fantastic job of doing the job. It’s funny, short, and to the point.

Our Grade: B+, It doesn’t take itself too seriously. Of course, that’s a great thing for a comedy to have to go for it. Jesse Plemons is a national treasure. He’s great in this film. I can recommend this, especially for a couple looking for a great film for movie night. See the film immediately. It’s available on digital and on demand right now. So definitely do that. Comedies tend to be easy to gauge. Is it funny? Are the jokes easy or do they feel earned? Typically this is how you’d determine if a comedy is any good. This one checks all the boxes.