Game Night (2018)

☆ ☆ ☆ 

Game Night (2018) – J. F. Daley & J. Goldstein

In the spirit of The Game (1997) (which saw Michael Douglas have the rug pulled out from under him as a birthday gesture), directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein try to fool Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams (and viewers) into questioning whether they are experiencing reality or an elaborate hoax (a murder mystery game night).  It’s fun, slick, and ultimately inconsequential.  I laughed a few times and I didn’t laugh a few times.  The comedy of embarrassment is always near at hand but the pacing of a thriller keeps things moving so that awkward moments and jokes are observed, accepted, and then quickly dispatched.  We are in good hands with Bateman and McAdams who have excellent timing and only rarely let things get cheesy.  The plot sees the competitive Bateman threatened by his older brother’s success (such that it affects his ability to make a baby), so when the opportunity comes to prove that they can win the murder mystery game night, he gives it his all.  Support is offered by a variety of familiar and unfamiliar faces who are either in on things or not.  Perhaps it all holds up but it may be best not to over-think things here.  Nice pulsating 80s synth soundtrack by Cliff Martinez (known for his work with Nicolas Winding Refn).