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While I never personally got involved in a game group, or rather a mix of friends who played games together on a regular basis, I’ve certainly known my share of people who were very much into that sort of thing. Either folks who would do board games in a house on a set night every week, or would meet in a bar that does trivia hoping to take the lead and cheer loudly as they win. The concept of friends who game together is what drives the new comedy GAME NIGHT, though in this story activities get a little more out of hand than expected. This comes from the directing team of John Francis Daley and Jonathan Brownstein, who brought you the HORRIBLE BOSSES movies, and falls very much in line with that style of dark humor.

Max (Jason Bateman) and Annie (Rachel McAdams) meet while out for a night of gaming with less competitive friends. They find in each other champion-like and highly competitive skill, which allows them to fall madly in love. Time passes, and these two now live together and meet regularly with a core group of four game-loving friends. They hide their fun nights from their neighbor Gary (Jesse Plemons), an awkward dog-carrying cop who is even worse now that his wife left him, and wants desperately to be friends with our leading duo to fill the void. On yet another game night where their friends Kevin (Lamorne Morris), Michelle (Kylie Bunbury) and Ryan (Billy Magnussen) come over to hang, Max and Annie are also joined by Max’s better-looking and more exciting brother Brooks (Kyle Chandler). As things wrap up, Brooks tells them the next get together needs to be at his place, and so a plan is made. When that inevitable night comes, everyone arrives at Brooks’ place and he informs them they’re going to take things up a notch, announcing that someone will be kidnapped and it’s up to the others to find them using clue… sort of like murder mystery theatre, only in the real world. As things start to play out, a couple of actual kidnappers show up and violently take Brooks away, only the rest of the gang doesn’t realize it’s not fake, so they don’t bother trying to help. Thinking this is just the game Brooks spoke of, they split up and start their search, but soon realize there’s more to this competitive evening than they thought.

One of the things that makes GAME NIGHT work so well is the casting. Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams have great chemistry together, and make for strong leads in this rather outrageous story. There’s a sincerity in their performances that really helps us want to root for them, even if on the surface their respective characters aren’t terribly likable or even all that redeeming. Lamorne Morris and Kylie Bunbury are fun as a couple strained by her admission of a romantic interlude with another man that was kept secret far too long… the payoff to this bit is rather hilarious too. Billy Magnussen is particularly funny as the dim-witted handsome friend who is constantly bringing over a different girl, usually less intellectual than him, only his latest date is a surprisingly sharp British woman played by Sharon Horgan. This mismatched couple is the only really odd pair in the story, but still manage to work well together. Kyle Chandler is fun as the cocky “better brother” Brooks, showing his rarely seen comedic side, though absent for a majority of the movie once the kidnapping takes place. Jesse Plemons is incredibly funny as the creepy next door neighbor, really stealing just about every scene he’s in. There’s a few other surprises in the cast that make for fun cameos.

This is one of those comedies where the characters go through unthinkable trials, but no one seems to learn anything or ever realize the severity of what they’re mixed up in, thought I guess in a way that’s part of the charm in this sort of outrageous comedy. John Francis Daley and Jonathan Brownstein may be sharing the director’s chair and the movie may feel like their past work in spirit, but the screenplay actually comes from Mark Perez, who hasn’t penned a theatrical release since the 2006 college comedy ACCEPTED. One thing the script does rather brilliantly is set up plot threads or ideas that pay off later, and manages to have each successive scene play out (sometimes subtly and at other times blatantly) like a game. Cliff Martinez also composed a fun score for the film, which feels almost like the music that would accompany a video game – I was surprised to see his name attached here, as he usually handles more serious films, but this may instantly be one of my favorite soundtracks he’s done to date. In the end, GAME NIGHT is pretty much a disposable comedy, but a lot of fun to watch. Some of those laughs may be covering up a rather simplistic concept, but the final product is such a treat you’ll probably be happy to play along.

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