Directed by John Francis Daley and Johnathan Goldstein

Starring: Jason Bateman, Rachel McAdams, Kyle Chandler, Jesse Plemons, Sharon Horgan

So if you know me well enough, you'll know I'm very particular about comedy films, and more specifically, ones of the American persuasion. I've never really appreciated them compared to the work of British comedy filmmakers such as Edgar Wright, and they never seem to hit the levels that filmmakers like Mel Brooks possess. They just seem to have lost their way, and I even did a blog on this not so long ago. However I have to admit, I was intrigued by Game Night, absolutely. It looked very different and unconventional, it had a generic cast with McAdams and Plemons sticking out to me, and after all it's praise I thought I'd give it a go. So were my horizons broadened? Pfft, nah.

Max (Bateman) and his wife Annie (McAdams) have been hosting a game night for their friends for years. When Max's successful brother Brooks (Chandler) comes back to town, Brooks plans a dark and mysterious game for his brother and friends which turns into a fake kidnapping turned real kidnapping, unknown to the players.

I suppose I'll say there are some good things to this film. And they are good, such as the direction of this film. There seems to be a lot of inspiration from filmmakers like Edgar Wright, with Daley and Goldstein taking a page out of his book and using some very clever and entertaining editing to make some scenes and montages all the more interesting and engaging - if only there was just a bit more of it. Bateman and McAdams are likeable leads, and whenever it is mostly just them gracing the screen the film works, mostly due to their great chemistry. A stand out performance, which always had be laughing, was that of Jesse Plemons. Playing the left out neighbour with a puppy dog, Plemons knocks it out of the park on this one as he always does. He's quirky and uncomfortably amusing and it works anytime he's on screen.

And look, some jokes work, some. The squeaky toy bit, (you'll know it when you see it) is a delight - but what I found most funny was the fact that the characters were unaware of Brooks' actual kidnap, thinking it was fake. This was what was actually funny, but what really ruined this for me was the fact that it is revealed that the kidnapping is real at the beginning of the second act, that early on. So the rest of the narrative becomes so old and repetitive, something that is seen a whole lot in this type of film. If only the first two acts were this unawareness, it would have made for some more interesting comedy.

And unfortunately this film just isn't that funny. Other characters and their subplots become so boring and annoying with cringe like jokes and some awful execution. It's often difficult for the characters to successfully play off eachother if not the main leads. And then the writing in the third act becomes a mess and really doesn't know what it wants to do or how it should wrap up, and feels like they had to add in a very clunky final fifteen minute sequence. It's all a bit disappointing.

I have no idea where the praise for this film is coming from, but I guess it's all a matter of opinion. Game Night has a lot of potential but that potential is blatantly ignored for another generic American comedy. While it has its perks these are not enough to save it in the slightest.

5/10