Directors: John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein

Writer: Mark Perez

Starring: Jason Bateman, Rachel McAdams, Billy Magnussen, Sharon Horgan, Lamorne Morris, Kylie Bunbury, Jesse Plemons, Michael C. Hall, Kyle Chandler

Rating: ★★★★

The biggest drama at a normal game night is arguing over who won a game, or whether that move was allowed. None of that compares to what happens in directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein’s Game Night, in which Max (Jason Bateman) and Annie (Rachel McAdams) along with their group of friends are invited by Max’s brother Brooks (Kyle Chandler) to his house for a new game where he’s arranged for someone to be kidnapped, and he ends up being actually kidnapped before the game even begins.

Apart from Brooks, everyone thinks the game it’s all part of the game, so they split up and start looking for clues to ‘save’ Brooks and don’t take it seriously at first. Even when Brooks is being kidnapped, fighting off his captors, they just sit there and watch, thinking it’s a show. Annie even picks up Brooks’s gun thinking it’s a prop and uses it later on as part of the game. The premise is brilliant and leads to some very funny moments, made even better by a great group of characters.

The film starts with Max and Annie, who are both incredibly competitive, meeting at a quiz night, battling it out and instantly falling for each other as if this was a rom-com meet cute. Bateman and McAdams are both brilliant and have good chemistry together on screen. Jesse Plemons is also brilliant, as their awkward neighbour who is no longer invited to game nights. He comes across a bit standoffish and very intense. He always seems to appear whenever they leave the house, and is the funniest character in the film.

As the story unfolds, there’s plenty of twists. What starts off as a normal game night, quickly results in Annie shooting Max in the arm by accident, and them having to try and remove the bullet in a back alley, which is both funny and a little gross, and that’s not even half-way through. The whole film is entertaining all the way through. There’s a great cast with a fair few surprise cameos. Simply put, Game Night is a great comedy.

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