FUN AND ‘GAME’
Screwball comedy promises ‘Night’ of laughs
Absolutely nutty, buoyed by a wonderfully warped sense of humor and a more-than-game cast that's equal to the film's rapid-fire dialogue and pace, “Game Night” easily rates as a stunning surprise.
A full-out screwball comedy with more twists than a Grand Prix speedway courtesy of Mark Perez's inventive screenplay, “Game Night” takes its large sprawling ensemble into an often hilarious round of nonstop shenanigans.
Game night is the weekly peak for extremely competitive married couple Max (Jason Bateman) and Annie (Rachel McAdams). Whether it's charades, a board game or a scavenger hunt, they live to win, and often host.
Their regulars are another couple, Kevin (Lamorne Morris, “New Girl”) and his wife, Michelle (Kylie Bunbury), who will forget the game to confront fidelity issues, and Annie's single, sex-happy sibling Ryan (Billy Magnussen), who is hilariously clueless. His dates are usually beautiful airheads, but on this game night, he's paired with a smart, sarcastic colleague (Sharon Horgan, divine).
One person definitely not on the invite list: recently divorced next-door neighbor Gary (Jesse Plemons, “Fargo”), a cop who is more than a bit weird.
“Game Night” explodes with a home invasion, thugs with guns, which everyone thinks is a joke — until (much later) Max realizes his superior older brother (Kyle Chandler) has been kidnapped and is being held for ransom.
As each couple sets off on a mission, they meet more oddball characters. Someone is accidentally shot and given feeble first aid.
Once everyone is reunited at a lavish party, for reasons that are clear but can't be explained here, they need to steal a priceless Faberge egg from a safe.
In one of many memorably daft comical moments, the antique Russian egg becomes a hot potato tossed by the players as they try to flee assorted goons and Danny Huston's mobster.
Directed by John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, “Game Night” shines with a blast of energy that never slows down until midway through the end credits.