Starring: Jason Bateman, Rachel McAdams, Kyle Chandler, Jesse Plemons, Jeffrey Wright, Billy Magnussen, Sharon Horga
OUR RATING: ★★★☆☆
Story:
Comedy thriller directed by John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein in which the story follows a couple, Max and Annie (Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams), whose weekly couples game night gets kicked up a notch when Max’s charismatic brother, Brooks (Kyle Chandler), arranges a murder mystery party, complete with fake thugs and faux federal agents. When Brooks gets kidnapped, it’s all supposed to be part of the game.
But as the six uber-competitive gamers set out to solve the case and win, they begin to discover that neither this game, nor Brooks, are what they seem to be. Over the course of one chaotic night, the friends find themselves increasingly in over their heads as each twist leads to another unexpected turn. With no rules, no points, and no idea who all the players are, this could turn out to be the most fun they’ve ever had, or game over.
Our Favorite Quote:
'It's often we don't appreciate what we have until it's gone.' - Gary (Game Night) Click To Tweet
Best Quotes
Trivia Leader: We’re down to two teams, so for double points, what is the name of the purple Teletubby?
Max and Annie: Tinky Winky.
Trivia Leader: You’re both correct.
Max: He always carried a…
Annie: Red purse.
Annie: Max is very competitive, as am I. It’s one of the reasons I fell in love with him.
[seeing “Ed Norton” name on the piece of paper]
Max: Oh, that’s easy. He was Incredible Hulk.
Kevin and Michelle: Eric Bana.
Max: Other one.
Michelle: Mark Ruffalo.
Ryan: Lou Ferrigno!
Max: Primal Fear!
Kevin: Richard Gear never played the Incredible Hulk.
Ryan: Time!
Max: Jesus Christ, Ed Norton!
Annie: Oh, right!
Ryan: Oh, shit.
Kevin: Primal Fear.
Gary: I do hope you keep me in mind for any future game nights.
Max: Oh, you bet.
Gary: I’ve always enjoyed the camaraderie of good friends competing in games of chance and skill.
Annie: Yeah. Yeah, well, we’ll do that, but tonight, it’s just the two of us.
Gary: Three bags of Tostitos Scoops, I notice.
Max: There was a special on these tonight. Three for one.
Gary: Three for one?
Max: Yep.
Gary: How can that be profitable for Frito Lay?
Max: These corporations, I don’t know what they’re doing.
Gary: Well, you two enjoy each other. It’s often we don’t appreciate what we have until it’s gone.
[there’s an awkward silence]
Max: I think that’s it.
Annie: Okay. Bye-bye!
Brooks: Guy, what do you say we do this at my house next week?
Annie: A guy who rents a house this big must be making up for something pretty small, I’d say.
Max: No, no. No, I’ve seen his dick. It’s pretty great.
Annie: Well, I tried.
Max: Very nice house, Tony Stark. Should we give our drink orders to Jarvis?
Brooks: No, I got the Tony Stark part, but then you went full nerd on me.
Brooks: This will be a game night to remember.
Max: Oh, boy.
Annie: Hm.
Sarah: Oh, no, I’ve got one. Never have I ever connected my work computer to the projector in the conference room when it was open on a WebMD page for chlamydia symptoms.
Ryan: That’s not cool!
Sarah: Drink!
Ryan: Just for the record, I did not have chlamydia. It was pubic dermatitis. You get it from not washing your crotch, so…
Michelle: Okay.
Kevin: Good for you.
Annie: I, I like her.
Brooks: Tonight we’re taking game night up a notch. We do not a board and we do not need pieces.
Max: We won’t need any extra rudeness either.
Brooks: Someone in this room is going to be taken and it’s going to be up to you to find them.
Kevin: It’s a murder mystery party.
Michelle: Fun.
Brooks: Whoever finds the victim wins the grand prize. The keys to the Stingray.
Ryan: Just the keys?
Brooke: No, Ryan, the whole car!
Ryan: Oh, yes!
Brooks: You’re not going to know what’s real and what’s fake.
Brooks: Wait a second, you just can’t come here and break the door!
[Brooks starts getting beat up as the couples just sit and watch]
Michelle: It’s so real.
[to the couples on game night]
Brooks: Help me, please!
Max: Guys, make sure you get a piece of this cheese. It’s just…
[as they take Brooks]
Kidnapper: First one that follows us gets shot.
Max: Okay, roger that. You drive safe.
Ryan: You’re like a double threat. Brains and you’re British.
Sarah: Thanks.
Kevin: Baby, hand me those matches. I’m about to burn this door down.
Michelle: You’re going to light a fire in a windowless room that we’re trapped in.
Kevin: Why do you got to make my ideas sound stupid?
Brooks: We can’t go to the cops!
Annie: Why?
Brooks: The Bulgarian’s got a ton of moles.
Annie: On his face?
Brooks: No, in the police department.
Gary: I will admit I have eagerly awaited a visit such as this.
[he starts walking back into his house]
Annie: Do we follow him?
Max: It seems like it.
Sarah: Ryan, you go first.
Ryan: I’m scared.
Gary: So, Sarah, how long have you two been a couple?
Sarah: Oh, no! No, we’re not. We just, we work together. I wouldn’t, um, I wouldn’t do that thing.
Gary: I see. I thought I detected a certain chemistry between the two of you.
Sarah: No. No way. No, that’s not…
Gary: Then again, I’m not the best judge of chemistry in the world.
[there’s awkward laughter followed by an awkward pause]
Ryan: Oh, because your wife left you.
Kevin: Oh, shit.
FBI Agent: It’s not a joke. You people are in real danger.
[jokingly waving the gun about]
Annie: Is this gun real?
Brooks: Oh, no, Annie. Oh, no, no, no!
Annie: Bang. Bang. Bang.
[she shoots the gun, it fires, she drops the gun to the floor, another shot fires hitting Max in his hand]
Max: Ow!
Annie: Oh, my God! I shot you!
Max: What the f… !
Annie: I hate game night!
Thug: Stop!
[he points the gun at her]
Annie: Wait, wait! I have kids at home.
Thug: Not with an ass like that you don’t.
Annie: Oh. Well, thank you.
[the plane engine behind him starts and he’s suddenly sucked into it]
Annie: Yes!
[realizing what just happened]
Annie: Oh, no, he died.
Max: I have one idea, it’s so crazy it just might work.
Annie: You’re going to crash the car into the plane like Liam Neeson in Taken 3?
Max: He did that in Taken 3, huh?
[as Max tries to crash into the plane]
Annie: You missed it.
Max: Thanks, baby.
Annie: This is instructions on how to remove a bullet. They didn’t have rubbing alcohol so I brought you this lovely chard.
Max: Good idea. Way to pivot.
Annie: And a squeaky toy.
Max: For the pain.
[Annie pours the chardonnay onto Max’s bullet wound,
Annie: That smarts, huh?
[Max squeeze the toy in his mouth in agreement]
Annie: This is instructions on how to remove a bullet. They didn’t have rubbing alcohol so I brought you this lovely chard.
Max: Good idea. Way to pivot.
[reads from the magazine]
Max: “What is helpful in country living?”
Annie: Oh, that’s for later. There’s a corn chowder recipe that looks really good.
Max: Oh, sweet.
Annie: You love corn chowder, huh?
Max: Yeah, I do. Thank you.
Annie: That’ll cheer you up.
Brooks: Listen. I’m a fraud, Max. I’m not the carefree dude that wins at everything he touches. You know how I win? I cheat. I cheat at everything. I even cheated when we were kids playing Battleship.
Max: What?
Brooks: Didn’t you ever wonder why I made you sit with your back to the TV? It was so I could see your ships in the reflection. I mean, I even took five grand every time we played Monopoly before we even started playing the game. I cheated at the game of life. And at the game of life.
Max: You son of a bitch. You son of a bitch!
Annie: Can you charade it to me?
Max: Charades? That’s some cute full-circle bullshit.
What do you think of Game Night quotes? Let us know in the comments below as we’d love to know.
Trailer:
Just this weekend I saw Game Night. (Please don’t tell me how late I am. I Know.) Anyway with Blockers right around the corner (I have a feeling that new movie with Amy Schumer might be much worse) I decided to see this movie in preparation for that Movie, but I hear from some people I know this movie is surprisingly good. Anyway here are my thoughts on Game Night.
The movie follows Max (Jason Bateman) and Annie (Rachel McAdams) who have weekly game nights with their friends. But that changes when Max’s brother, Brooks (Kyle Chandler), invites them all to a murder mystery party. That goes out of hand when Brooks actually gets kidnapped and Max and his friends get involved in something bigger than they thought.
Firstly this movie is actually funny. (Surprising right?) The characters have good banter with each other, they play off each other excellently and their reactions to each moment are pretty spot on. From what I picked up these guys are really into film so they make lots pop culture references along with some violence and sexual humour throughout the film but I wouldn’t say all of them hit for me. Probably my favourite part of the movie is when one of the characters gets shot and another character that has no medical training goes to like Wiki-how site to search on how to take bullets out and comedy just plays out from there.
So couple number one is Max and Annie who has the most rushed love story I’ve ever seen in a movie. For the whole movie they talk about their love for games, Max’s brother and having babies. They play off each just fine and Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams gives a good performance. The other two couples are not really focused on that much. Like (Billy Magnusson) and (Sharon Horgan) they’re the only couple that don’t go anywhere and in the end felt kind of pointless. Then there’s (Lamorne Morris) and (Kyle Bunbury) who’s only plot line is: Did my girlfriend have sex with a celebrity?
Max’s brother, Brooks, what we learn about him later on I question why do they even help this guy. Max has a reason but not the other 5 main characters. The best character in the movie is Max’s and Annie’s Neighbour Gary (Jesse Plemons) He’s a cop who was a part of the Game Night Crew and every Game Night he watches them all come over to Max’s house and he watches them in his front yard very creepily while he rubs his dog like he’s a James Bond Villain.
By the way this is an Action Comedy so let’s talk about the action. It’s pretty good I liked the scene in the fight scene in the kitchen. The car chase isn’t that bad and that one take chase scene in the mansion is just really confusing on where everyone is and can be very distracting. But it’s pretty good with some convincing blood. I’ll give the movie points for having convincing blood.
I know I may sound like I didn’t enjoy myself but I actually really did. I don’t normally laugh in movies but other people in my cinema laughed for most of the movie and I was smiling for the whole thing. My only real gripe is the near the end. Without spoilers I’m just going to say it’s very convoluted with some unnecessary twists that ruined a potentially emotional scene with a stupid joke.
Anyway I still really enjoyed Game Night. I’m sure I would watch it again one day but if you haven’t seen it I think it’s definitely worth your time. I would give it an 8/10 it’s a good movie but it’s the ending that pushed it back away a 9.
Those are my thoughts on Game Night if you agree or disagree please let me know in the comments. If you haven’t notice I’m a huge fan of movies and I’m willing to suffer for my audience (If I have any) so let me know on what I should review next.
Blockers comes out next week so except a review around early April but until then thanks for reading this review and I’ll see you again in the next review.
Rating: 4/5
Anyone know the line that Ryan says about ‘scrotal dermatitis?’ I can’t remember exactly but its a goodie lol.