Game Night (2018)
Any movie that starts off with “Don’t Stop Me Now” (my favorite Queen song) has got to be good. Game Night has a great soundtrack, perfect for the target audience: late-thirties or early forties. With “Captain Jack,” “Quando Quando Quando,” and “Semi-Charmed Life” to keep you company, this movie will keep you riveted from start to finish. It’s written in the style of modern humor, which is really a love-it-or-leave it type of humor. If you like muttered comments, awkward pauses, extremely fast banter consisting of either sex jokes or insults, you’ll probably laugh until your sides hurt. Sometimes, a good laugh is just what I need, and I usually pop in I Give It a Year or Wanderlust; but I’ll add Game Night to that group of modern comedies that always cheer me up.
The entire cast has such great chemistry together and bounce off each other’s timing extremely well. Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams are the lead couple, competitive, in love, and a team in everything they do. They love every sort of game, but when they attend (instead of host) a game night at Jason’s brother’s house, they get way in over their heads. Another couple, Lamorne Morris and Kylie Bunbury, have an ongoing argument that keeps interrupting the perilous games, bringing levity to the situations. Dumb but cute Billy Magnussen (also known as Rapunzel’s Prince) and his date of the week, Sharon Horgan, are totally mismatched, but perhaps her intelligence can help solve the riddles. Kyle Chandler, the more successful brother, is very funny and charming; and the icing on the cake is Jesse Plemmons, the neighbor who’s never invited to game night.
For a subject that’s so light, there are some pretty dark moments in the movie, like gunshots and fight clubs. I wouldn’t watch this movie with my kids, and if you’re squeamish about blood, you might look away a couple of times. The fast-paced humor and absurdity of the plot twists are so funny, that if there weren’t so many different “scene changes”, I would love to see it performed on the stage. I have no idea how they filmed the one-take wonder “egg relay” action scene. There must have been some intense computer graphics and stuntmen, but it’s still impressive and impossible to look away. Watch the trailer, and if it makes you laugh, you’ll love the rest of the movie.
DLM Warning: If you suffer from vertigo or dizzy spells, like my mom does, this movie might not be your friend. In the beginning, after they kiss on the subway, the camera spins in a circle. Also, when the kidnappers are trying to break the door down, the camera jerks unexpectedly to the side. And towards the end, after Rachel says, “Our car isn’t there,” the camera turns in a circle for a few seconds, and that will make you sick. In other words, "Don't Look, Mom!"
Kiddy Warning: Obviously, you have control over your own children. However, due to graphic language, gore and sexual content, I wouldn't let my kids watch it.
More Rachel McAdams movies here!
The entire cast has such great chemistry together and bounce off each other’s timing extremely well. Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams are the lead couple, competitive, in love, and a team in everything they do. They love every sort of game, but when they attend (instead of host) a game night at Jason’s brother’s house, they get way in over their heads. Another couple, Lamorne Morris and Kylie Bunbury, have an ongoing argument that keeps interrupting the perilous games, bringing levity to the situations. Dumb but cute Billy Magnussen (also known as Rapunzel’s Prince) and his date of the week, Sharon Horgan, are totally mismatched, but perhaps her intelligence can help solve the riddles. Kyle Chandler, the more successful brother, is very funny and charming; and the icing on the cake is Jesse Plemmons, the neighbor who’s never invited to game night.
For a subject that’s so light, there are some pretty dark moments in the movie, like gunshots and fight clubs. I wouldn’t watch this movie with my kids, and if you’re squeamish about blood, you might look away a couple of times. The fast-paced humor and absurdity of the plot twists are so funny, that if there weren’t so many different “scene changes”, I would love to see it performed on the stage. I have no idea how they filmed the one-take wonder “egg relay” action scene. There must have been some intense computer graphics and stuntmen, but it’s still impressive and impossible to look away. Watch the trailer, and if it makes you laugh, you’ll love the rest of the movie.
DLM Warning: If you suffer from vertigo or dizzy spells, like my mom does, this movie might not be your friend. In the beginning, after they kiss on the subway, the camera spins in a circle. Also, when the kidnappers are trying to break the door down, the camera jerks unexpectedly to the side. And towards the end, after Rachel says, “Our car isn’t there,” the camera turns in a circle for a few seconds, and that will make you sick. In other words, "Don't Look, Mom!"
Kiddy Warning: Obviously, you have control over your own children. However, due to graphic language, gore and sexual content, I wouldn't let my kids watch it.
More Rachel McAdams movies here!