“Game Night” is a predictable yet hilarious mystery comedy movie about a couple, Max (Jason Bateman) and Annie (Rachel McAdams), who love to have their friends over on weekends to play harmlessly fun games like Pictionary and charades. Both are incredibly competitive, which is part of the reason why they are so cheesily well-matched. One night, Max’s older, more successful and more attractive brother, Brooks, shows up in town and offers to host next week’s game night—where hired actors “kidnap” him and everyone else has to follow clues to save him.
“Game Night” uses occasional blood spatters and a larger range of characters to successfully distract viewers from multiple plot holes and a repetitive script. Riddled with pop culture references, hyperbolic stereotypes and semi-slapstick humor, the wide spectrum of jokes ensures that everyone will eventually find something funny. This movie is unapologetically mainstream and reminiscent of other action based comedies featuring B list actors. Some familiar faces you might recognize are Chelsea Peretti (Gina Linetti from “Brooklyn 99”), Lamorne Morris (Winston Bishop from “New Girl”l), and Jesse Plemons (Todd Alquist from “Breaking Bad”).
Despite the repetition, the Bateman and McAdams duo keeps the movie light hearted and fast paced, preventing the plot from stagnating as it tends to do in many more forgettable comedies. Just like a game of charades, writer Mark Perez seems to want to shove as many acts as possible into the “Game Night’s” 100 minute runtime—so if you’re looking for a good laugh with a group of friends, “Game Night” would be up there as one of the best movie choices to please a large audience.