Movie #105 2020: Game Night (2018)

Game Night is one of those movies that look absolutely naff. I’m sorry, but it does.

A-list cast? Check. Cute dog in the poster? Check. Premise based on something that is usually rather ordinary? Check. This looks exactly like the kind of comedy that Hollywood churns out every now and then just to make a quick buck.

But Game Night is so much more than that.

I was more than pleasantly surprised when I was watching it – I was pleasantly overjoyed. Not only did it exceed my expectations, I can safely safe it was the funniest comedy I’ve watched this year, if not the past 5 years. Every single one of the all-star cast that I mentioned is excellent. Sure, some of the comedy is kind of physical and slapstick, but each cast member is a brilliant sport. The comedic timing of Jason Bateman, Rachel McAdams, Sharon Horgan, Jesse Plemons, Kyle Chandler – literally everyone – is perfect. There’s not a single joke that doesn’t land.

There were two sequences that particularly stood out. First, there’s a simple scene in which the main character gets injured, so a trip to the gas station for wound dressing regalia occurs. Of course, a gas station isn’t exactly your ideal trip to the medical supplies store at an A&E department, so what they actually manage to get their hands on is rather hilarious. Although the entire scene involves nothing but the two main protagonists sitting on the hood of their car, it is so perfectly written and performed that I was howling.

Secondly, there’s a section that involves a Faberge egg being launched around a room. Without context, that probably sounds quite odd. But it is necessary to the plot, trust me. Anyway, what is so great here is that – uncharacteristically for a comedy – the cinematography is on point. This is a sequence that clearly took a hefty amount of choreography and rehearsal time, and it ends up being executed so well that it was the highlight of the film for me. It’s not a short scene either – it probably lasts two to three minutes – and did I mention it’s filmed in all one shot? That’s right, the whole thing is basically one long take, which only makes it all the more impressive.

Although parts of the plot line take a turn for the ridiculous towards the end, it doesn’t really matter. I would genuinely recommend this to everyone (above the age of 15, of course). Although if you have a 12-14 year old, I’d say this was suitable for them to be honest.

So, if you’re ever looking for a new comedy to watch that you don’t want to disappoint, this is the one for you. There’s only so many times you can watch Groundhog Day before it feels like… well, Groundhog Day.

Game Night was unfortunately taken off Sky Go earlier this year, so I purchased the DVD for £3.29 (plus free delivery) on MusicMagpie.co.uk. However, if you can afford to fork out a little extra, you can buy & keep it for £4.99 on the Microsoft Store, or pay £7.99 to buy & keep on the Sky, Apple, or Google Play stores.

TQR Category Ratings:

Performance: 
Cinematography: 
Soundtrack: 
Costume & Set Design: 
Plot: 
Overall Rating: