I'm not always interested in big-screen comedies, but give me some laugh-out-loud dark humor, great acting, unexpected twists, and some quality production techniques and I am all in. Game Night is even more fun than I expected. It complicates what seems to be an ensemble-driven crime-comedy in provocative and exciting ways that kept me on the edge of my seat and crying from laughter.
Its almost-meta premise is this: A golden couple who loves their game nights a little too much get in over their heads when a role-playing game becomes real. Everything goes well until, well, it doesn't, and the players work through decades-old sibling rivalries, romantic fidelity, a secret crime ring, fight clubs, Danny Huston, the witness protection program, a jilted former game night regular, a Faberge egg, and a man who looks a lot like Denzel Washington. Who lives and who dies? What's part of the game and what isn't? Are there more games than one being played? That's all a part of the fun.
Apart from some of the tightest plotting and wittiest dialogue I've seen in a comedy in ages, this film rises above its ilk because of its technical brilliance. Its use of gorgeous miniatures to introduce new settings is fascinating, as it suggests the characters are players in a game long before we know the game has begun. It also features lovely set pieces, notably the alienated brother's house that gets invaded, as well as the rich man's house in which they seek the Faberge egg. In the latter, there is an amazing single tracking shot that follows the "chase" with exquisite choreography, as the egg trades hands and is run all around, up, down, and through the house before the team escapes.
Plus, the acting is all top-notch. I especially loved (as always) Billy Magnussen and his sweetly stupid character, Kyle Chandler getting pretty crazy, and Rachel McAdams being badass. I'm still laughing about her getting some "lovely chard" to help clean her hubby's wound; that sequence is one of the funniest in the film. Game nights aren't always this much fun, so enjoy this one as much as you can!
IMDb: Game Night
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