Review of Game Night (2018) by Mmadnessgames — 27 Feb 2018

Game Night knows what it is and it doesn't try to pretend to be something that it is not... It's not a clever film. It's not original. It's just a bit of silly fun.

A review I read said it was a comedic version of Fincher's "The Game". But, that's not a good comparison. There are obvious similarities. A brother hires a group of actors to set up an elaborate series of events, orchestrating a fake adventure. And, the word "game" is in the title.

But, this film is much closer to The Man Who Knew Too Little... If it was a mix of The Game and The Man Who Knew Too Little, it would lean towards the latter.

The script is better than the film. There were some really funny moments, but there were as many failed jokes as there were successful ones.

Jesse Plemons (the redhead from Breaking Bad) is the highlight of this film. It's the first time I've seen him pull off a truly great comic performance. I think he's got a lot of potential.

Sharon Horgan (the British woman from Catastrophe) is one of the better actors in the film, but her character doesn't work. They phoned her in, along with her date and the other "Denzel" couple... They are one joke couples. That's one joke for two characters.

1. The stupid guy usually dates bimbos, but this time he brought along a ringer. That is: a smart woman he doesn't want to sleep with who might help him win game night.

2. The black guy is freaking out because his wife said she slept with a celebrity during a drinking game. Turns out she didn't. It was just somebody that looked vaguely like Denzel Washington.

They stretch these jokes across every scene with these characters. The actors do a good job with the material. It's not cringe-worthy, but it's not great.

The main couple (Bateman / McAdams) have a bit more depth/character.

The brother could have been a lot better, especially towards the end. It's a super cliched character that has been done to death - the rich, successful, obnoxious brother - and this one is completely forgettable.

This reminds me of Date Night. A quirky suburban couple get entangled in some sort of dangerous scheme and end up clashing with the criminal underworld... Plus, it has the word "night" in the title.

I've gotten to a point where I've seen so many films that it's pretty likely I've seen something extremely similar to whatever I'm going to watch on any given day... But this is a bit too familiar at times.

If it wasn't for Plemons and the scene with all the blood, I'd give it a 5/10.