Posted in: Kaitlyn Booth, Movies, Review, Warner Bros | Tagged: film, Game Night, HRL, Review, Warner Bros

Game Night Review: Doesn't Get the High Score, but Doesn't Lose Either

Published Thu, 22 Feb 2018 13:15:14 -0600

Game Night is one of those rare mid-tier comedies that has a few laughs, but isn't consistently good enough for a recommendation.

Director: John Francis Daley, Jonathan Goldstein
Summary: A group of friends who meet regularly for game nights find themselves trying to solve a murder mystery.

Comedies usually go one of two ways: they are either terrible or they're good. It's very rare to find a comedy that is just okay, but Game Night is one of those rare okay comedies. The concept is pretty fun, as we watch a bunch of hyper-competitive adults try to solve a murder mystery game that gets real very quickly. The premise of these characters not knowing this is real is ripe for comedy, but the movie doesn't hold on to that premise for too long. By the middle of act two everyone knows that this is real, and someone's life is on the line. The biggest hook is abandoned pretty early in, and it's just another comedy with funny people doing crime-related things.

These are plenty of funny people, though. Rachel McAdams is the MVP of this entire production. She is an actor that is usually cast as the leading lady in serious movies, but she has fantastic comedic timing. McAdams has a very expressive face and it makes almost everything she does very funny. Jason Bateman is also great as the little brother who has to run off to save the big brother, in this case Kyle Chandler. For all of you Brooklyn Nine-Nine fans, a very pregnant Chelsea Peretti makes an appearance, and she is always funny.

The thing about comedies is they are a little hard to review. You can't talk about the jokes too much, because that gives away the movie. While there are some laughs, it still manages to feel a little on the long side. It shouldn't, since it's only 100 minutes, but there are some moments that really drag. However, it's the rare R-rated comedy that doesn't sink to using gross-out humor or nudity to get laughs. It's mostly for people saying "fuck" a lot in situations where any normal person would say "fuck".

Game Night isn't going to blow anyone's mind or split anyone's side, but it's serviceable as far as a R-rated comedy goes. It likely isn't going to make much of an impact against the juggernaut that is Black Panther, but when you watch it on Netflix a year from now with some cheap beer, you'll probably laugh. If nothing else, it might be worth checking out since these two directors just signed on to do the Flashpoint movie.

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