Capsule Review

Over the weekend, I saw the comedy Game Night, and I have an odd reaction to it.  On the one hand, it's a thin, one-line premise that sounds great in a pitch meeting and doesn't lend itself to much of a substantive plot.  Also, if you pay any sort of attention, the connection that the story has with reality is at times non-existent, to the point of eye-rolling and head-numbing.  On the other hand, the acting is pretty good, most especially the rapport between Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams (who in particular seems to be having the time of her life).  And if you don't pay close attention, the ride it goes on is enjoyable.  But most of all, for much of the movie, the dialogue is a total hoot and at times hilarious.

So, for all its flaws -- which are many -- I found it very funny and worth going to.  Utterly unmemorable story after leaving the theater, yet I'll bet it's probably still funny when it later pops up on television.

Here's the trailer.  Understandably, it focuses more on the plot -- or, rather, the action, since the plot as I said is not remotely its strong point -- but they do manage to get some of the dialogue and fun in, which is really where the movie shines, rather than the running around and chases.

As a bonus, I was able to find a few scenes, so here's one of them.  In this clip, Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams think they're playing the Game Night game to track down his supposedly-kidnapped brother and have followed the clues to a seedy bar with play-actors from the game company posing as "big, mean thugs."  Except he actually has been kidnapped, is being held in back room bound and gagged, and the very dangerous men are, in fact, involved.  The couple soon learn that this isn't a game, but that hasn't come yet.