Most of us are used to the January to May movie lull–no one wants to release their film at a time of year in which people are struggling to leave their beds, let alone leave them and head to the theater. The lull is also in part to the lack of popular holidays from January to May (Valentines Day doesn’t count, there’s enough people who hate the holiday to match the ones that love it).
So, imagine my surprise when I hit the theater for Game Night! The film already has two of my favorite actors: Rachel McAdams, and Lamorne Morris (Winston, from New Girl). The movie was rated R, which almost always means I’m going to find some issue with it. “Did they have to cuss that much?!” “Did we really need to see that naked guy running across a field?” “Come on…did we have to see him sawn in half?!”
Okay the last one is on me–you sign up for a horror flick, you’re going to see people sawn in half. But Game Night did not deserve it’s R rating at all! Besides some violence and innuendo, this film was not over the top.
And you know what else? It was quality. Game Night was well written and produced, it’s humor delightfully on the mark, and it’s premise unlike all the same old sequels in theater right now.
To convince you further, let me share the premise of the film: Max and Annie are board game fanatics. They just love em’. After this is established in a totally adorable and hilarious bar scene, the couple’s pregnancy counselor reveals Max is having trouble with his ‘swimmers’ because of the stress of his brother coming into town.
Max’s brother, Brooks, glides into town and into their lives, every bit as impressive as Max remembers. Things start to get interesting when Brooks plans a game night with a real-life re-enactment of a kidnapping scenario, with actors to play the parts. However, the game night becomes a bit too realistic, sending the whole group on a dangerous and hilarious adventure.
I thoroughly enjoyed this film, and would highly recommend going to see it. I love seeing new stories in theaters, and this one hit the mark right on the head! But don’t be surprised if you’re inclined to throw a game night after this–I know I will! With hopefully less violent results.