Game Night

2/4

Starring: Jason Bateman, Rachel McAdams, Billy Magnussen, Sharon Horgan, Lamorne Morris, Kylie Bunberry, Jesse Plemons, Kyle Chandler

Rated R for Language, Sexual References and Some Violence

I'll admit I was not looking forward to this movie.  I was afraid it would be just another example of what comedy has descended into: a moronic plot punctuated by profanity, potty humor that's unlikely to amuse anyone over the age of thirteen, and endless riffs by clueless stand-up comedians posing as would-be actors.  In other words, I was expecting a repeat of "The House."  Fortunately, "Game Night," despite its equally lame title, is more ambitious than that.  This comic thriller has an actual plot, and while its elements are never original and rarely gel, the filmmakers can rest assured that "Game Night" won't appear on my Bottom 10 list this year.

Super competitive yuppies Max (Bateman) and Annie (McAdams) love to have game nights with their friends.  Their regulars include couple Kevin (Morris) and Michelle (Bunberry), cute but dim-witted Ryan (Magnussen) and Ryan's latest squeeze, an Irish lass named Sarah (Horgan).  It used to include Gary (Plemons), but the group does their best to avoid him after his split since he has no personality and is a borderline creep.  This time, Max's overachieving brother Brooks (Chandler) is in town, and he has a special game arranged: a live-action scavenger hunt staged as a kidnapping.  The trouble is that when Brooks is actually kidnapped, no one believes it.

"Game Night" actually works best as a thriller, since that's what co-directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein concentrate on.  I wouldn't be surprised if Mark Peretz's script was originally written as a thriller and then jokes were added in.  I say this because the film has a few twists too many and few of the jokes are actually funny.  Could be wrong though.

Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams are too good for this material.  Bateman is capable of far more than playing Michael Bluth clones (mercifully, he doesn't do that here), and McAdams is always a delight to watch (though this is the first time she has dropped a few f-bombs and fired a gun, if memory serves).  But they're stuck working with a script that is worthy of a direct-to-DVD title.  The other actors are forgettable: none are awful but they aren't likely to get hired again anytime soon.  Kyle Chandler appears as well in a role that is also beneath his talent, and Jesse Plemons is perhaps too good at playing a true weirdo.  Danny Huston and Michael C. Hall appear as (real) gangsters.  Hall is good enough that you wish he took more roles.

"Game Night" has its moments, to be sure.  A few of the jokes are witty and get a chuckle here and there, and the action scenes are nicely staged.  Especially impressive is a bizarre game of keep away that is apparently filmed in one take.  I didn't hate this movie, but I can't recommend it except for late night TV

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