Review of Game Night (2018) by Connor S — 27 Feb 2018

Knowing virtually nothing about this movie, I was expecting it to bungle its premise badly. It's not often that a studio can successfully translate a sitcom-esque story to full-length R-rated feature fare. Gradually, however, I realized that I wasn't laughing because the movie was bad; I was laughing because Game Night is actually pretty darn funny.

To be clear, a lot of the things I was expected Game Night to do wrong, did indeed go wrong. For example, the thriller aesthetic doesn't mix well with the comedic tone. Outdoor scenes heavily rely on orange streetlamp lighting, giving off the look of a gritty crime drama. Likewise, the electronic score was so cheesy, it's hard to tell if it's meant to parody or be played straight. The editing, however is superb. The filmmakers know how to cross-cut between the characters, balancing them perfectly. Sliding and swiveling the camera to create transitions is also a pretty novel trick. However, what left me most disappointed was how underutilized dramatic irony is. For a premise based around it, it would have made the movie a lot stronger if dramatic irony played a prominent role in the plot for more than the first act.

Even if Game Night is a mixed-bag from a film-making perspective, the humor and performances make up for it. Its comedic material is a versatile combination of recurring gags, pop-culture references, brick jokes, not-too-raunchy adult humor, and political humor. For the most part, the movie knows better than to rely too much on any one type of comedy. Equally balanced are the actors, whose charm can sneak up on you. Each of the three pairs of characters bring their own unique chemistry that makes the supporting cast almost as interesting as the two leads. Rarely do they ever feel like filler for the film. The real star of the show, however, is Jesse Plemmons (Breaking Bad). At this point, I think it's safe to say that Meth Damon is having a better career than the real Matt Damon right now. His disturbed, emotionless thesaurus-like persona is funny, sympathetic, and creepy. Both of these elements come together to make Game Night a genuinely entertaining movie. It may not be a blockbuster hit, but Game Night is quite a card.