Game Night

The realm of goofy R rated comedies certainly knows no boundaries. The shear silly nature of the premise can hold many potential opportunities for the film depending on the actors involved, the quality of the writing, the tone of the story, and the payoff for the jokes at hand. There are numerous movies through time that can test the limits of ordinary premises to the silly extremes. The pre-2000 era was still figuring itself out and didn't have the restrictions on how absurd they could get. The modern era did its best to work with developments in comedic range, experimenting with different arrangement of comedic actors, how far they are willing to have some improve, and how to turn an unexpected or predictable premise into something worth watching. This brings us to Game Night, a comedy that wasn't marketed that much but had received good critical reviews, though there wasn't much buzz going for it (since it was released during the same weekend as Black Panther). I entered the auditorium ready to see if this deserved to be under the radar and left it surprised that not many people have seen nor have been talking about this entertaining dark comedy.

Note: Stay during the end credits for something funny related to one of the plot points.

Plot: The story follows three couples who end up going on a murder mystery event during one of their weekly game nights that takes an unexpected turn into something more real than they were led to believe (it borrows a similar concept from Tropic Thunder and does a great job in execution). The interactions between each of the pairs and their present environment displays solid comedic exchanges that lands much more than it misses. The writing manages to take advantage of its premise pretty well in relying on the strengths its protagonists banter and comic relief, along with stellar camera work. The dark humor works very well to the point of having elements of a horror movie but having a cast of comedians who refuse to play along with it. However, while most of the jokes works, there are a few noticeably dull ones mixed in there and the illness known as "third act-itis" returns to cause the plot to lose some of its steam and momentum (though not enough to take away from the strong enjoyment factor felt throughout).

Characters: The pairs to focus on are Max (Jason Bateman) and Annie (Rachel McAdams), Ryan (Billy Magnussen) and Sarah (Sharon Horgan), and Kevin (Lamorne Morris) and Michelle (Kylie Bunbury). One thing to keep in mind is to not feel too bad for them since they are kind of jerks in their own fierce yet goofy natures. Max and Annie are a competitive married couple whose goal to have a child comes into conflict with the latter struggling against his stress with his brother. Jason and Rachel are great both individually and together with their strong chemistry showcasing why neither of them should ever be underestimated with the former proving himself a very reliable straight man abundant of clever one liners and the latter having charming likable energy (whenever the camera is on their smiles, it's pretty hilarious). Ryan and Sarah are an fun odd pair with the former being part of the main friend group and the latter being his new date. Billy and Sharon carry a different flavor of humor bond in through their rapport since the formers archetype is the dumb blonde while the latter is much smarter, creating a fun dating experience.

Kevin and Michelle are the high school sweetheart married couple going through their own recurring gag during the night. While the joke tends to drag little, the payoff is solid and both actors are cute together to watch with some solid one liners of their own. Honorable mentions go to Brooks (Kyle Chandler) and Gary (Jesse Plemons) since the former is entertaining as the biggest jerk out of all the characters (and that's saying something) and the latter is the best scene stealer in every one of his line deliveries.

Cinematography: Normally this wouldn't be something to note in many comedies since most of them are reliant on the aforementioned factors for success but Game Night does something unique to stand out. There are some overhead shots in the view of the city that are shaped in the form of a board game model. There are two scenes where the effort is also on display, the first of which is a car chase that's shot and crafted well (to the point of being better than the one in Black Panther) and the second being a chase that's filmed in one take. In addition to that, the visuals in the opening credits are rather fitting and nice to watch.

Overall Consensus: Game Night is an entertaining dark comedy that embraces its silly premise, has strong chemistry among that cast, great jokes, and solid cinematography. ⭑⭑⭑⭑🍿🎟 Runtime: 1 hour 40 minutes R

Reasons to watch it: You like any of the aforementioned actors. You and your friends are looking for fun crowd experience with an enjoyable comedy. You like movies that embrace their bizarre premises. You enjoy good car chases and great cinematography. You want to take a break from the mainstream blockbusters and watch something very underrated. You want to see Jesse Plemons being very creepy (like he was in Breaking Bad season 5) while holding an adorable dog.

Reasons to avoid it: You dislike any of the aforementioned actors. You dislike goofy comedy films with dark humor that have a scene with some blood.

Coming up next: March Madness is off to strong start with Game Night providing much levity in its dark humor. It proved itself to be an underrated fun experience that should have received more attention for those taking a break from mainstream. However, now its time to enter CGI and sci-fi with a popular black director and a writer most commonly associated with the modern Disney era animated features. Tune in next time as Screening Spectacles will take a look at what happens when Ava DuVernay (the director of Selma) and Jennifer Lee (the writer and co-director of Frozen) team up in adapting a 1962 novel with a lot of celebrity names attached to it, A Wrinkle in Time!