Welcome back to another installment of Review Stew! Grab your partner, submit your team names, and get ready for… Game Night (2018).
Title: Game Night
Directors: John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein
Released: February 15, 2018 (New Zealand and Romania)
Runtime: 1 hour 40 minutes
Available to stream on: Netflix
Max (Jason Bateman) and Annie (Rachel McAdams) are a happily married couple who take their game night very seriously. As we learn in an opening montage, they met while playing trivia in a local bar, instantly bonding when they both correctly guessed the name of the purple Teletubby.
They host an infamous game night at their place, and the usual crowd shows up: the married duo of Kevin (Lamorne Morris) and Michelle (Kylie Bunbury), plus Ryan (Billy Magnussen) and whoever he’s dating that week. This time he brings Sarah (Sharon Horgan). And there’s one extra person coming this week, Max’s brother, Brooks (Kyle Chandler).
Unfortunately, this leaves next door neighbor Gary (Jesse Plemons) on the sidelines yet again. All Gary wants is an invite to game night. Ever since his divorce, everyone has decided that they liked his ex-wife more than him. Gary takes every opportunity to force awkward small-talk in order to try and find an in. Turns out Max and Annie just commit to out awkward-ing Gary in order to continue to ice him out.
Despite trying to keep him in the dark about game night, Gary surely knows what’s going on when Brooks shows up in his loud Stingray. The night only goes downhill from there for Max. Every chance he gets, Brooks is trying to embarrass Max to throw him off his game. Max has never beat Brooks during a game night and that streak is about to continue.
Brooks, never missing an opportunity to show off his wealth, decides to host game night the next time around. He claims that it’ll be a night they never forget. Shortly after everyone shows up, an FBI officer enters the home. As he’s speaking to the group, two masked men bust in and kidnap Brooks.
Having heard that he was planning an unforgettable night, the group assumes this is all a part of Brooks’ plan. But what happens when the line between game and reality continues to blur?
If you’re not up for embracing the absurd, you’re going to have a rough time getting through Game Night (2018).
Though, if you’re up for a wild ride, there’s plenty to enjoy here.
One of the strengths in Game Night (2018) is the attention that is paid to each character. While yes, Bateman and McAdams have great chemistry together, they are by no means the primary focus. You have a cast where even the secondary characters are given their time to shine. Whether it is Kevin and Michelle’s marital issues, Gary awkwardly lurking and searching for an invite, or Ryan and his intelligence, everyone’s subplots wind up paying off by the end of the film.
The time spent establishing each character makes it incredibly easy to buy-in and be along for the ride. Which is good because things take a pivot away from traditional games towards a dark and humorous version of Fincher’s The Game. When that turn takes place, the ridiculousness is turned up to 11.
Throughout it all, Game Night (2018) works because it doesn’t take itself seriously. It embraces the chaos and absurdity, refuses to apologize for any of it, and is refreshing and enjoyable as a result.
So, have you seen Game Night (2018)? If so, what did you think?
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