Jesse Plemons is a national treasure.
While he’s best known as the crazy Nazi punk from Breaking Bad, he’s been stellar in countless roles. Ever since he burst onto the scene in 2002’s Like Mike (the greatest non-Space Jam basketball movie of all time), he’s been excellent in everything from The Discovery to Black Mirror. He’s a committed actor who often outshines his more famous co-stars.
Game Night is no different. The movie is headlined by Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams, but Plemons is the main attraction. His deadpan seriousness and intensity is a winning formula in a comedy. He’s the only actor in the film afforded an actual, consistent character and he makes the most of it. He’s the highlight of the picture.
While Game Night never approaches Plemons’ level of quality, it’s still a serviceable, well-made comedic distraction as we wind through the winter months.
Jason Bateman’s Max loves to compete. Trivia, board games, charades; you name it, he’s won it. His wife Annie (Rachel McAdams) is equally driven. That’s about all the information the film provides about these thinly sketched characters. Oh, and they’re trying to get pregnant, which plays out as subtly as Fifty Shades Freed’s childbirth discussions.
Max and Annie attend a game night hosted by Max’s ultra-successful brother Brooks (Kyle Chandler, sporting his permanently magnificent haircut). Brooks has arranged a murder-mystery game, but when real criminals break in and kidnap him, everyone scrambles to save him (while still thinking it’s all part of the game).
It’s a decent-enough setup, although it sometimes feels more like an extended sitcom episode than a full movie. The plot is predictable and rote, with character developments coming a mile away. The criminals’ motivations are completely dull and even an appearance from the great Michael C. Hall can’t make the climax feel any less tired and generic.
But in comedies like these, the plot doesn’t matter. How are the jokes? Not too bad. Like most American comedies these days, everybody spout off endless pop culture references. Thankfully, there’s a decent one-liner every few minutes. There’s not a lot of laugh-out-loud material in Night, but it’s usually chuckle worthy.
The camerawork, surprisingly, does quite a bit to accentuate the humour. Directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein use zooms and close-ups to highlight the awkwardness of certain scenes (mostly with Plemons). Their lighting choices are interesting, bathing bars and mansions with a general seediness, making the characters’ obliviousness to the danger they’re in more hilarious. I also appreciated the touch of making establishing shots of neighborhoods and cars resemble pieces of a board game (unless that was just a massive technical goof, in which case I retract my praise).
No one touches Plemons acting-wise in Night, but the cast is game. Billy Magnussen is fun as a moronic womanizer and Kyle Chandler infuses his character with the right level of smarm and likability. Bateman and McAdams mostly seem like they’re on autopilot, particularly Bateman, who just recycles his tired “everyman” schtick from Arrested Development. Hell, he even reuses his character arc from Juno.
Game Night gets the job done. You laugh, you leave, you forget about it in a month. But it’s an enjoyable ride nonetheless. Plemons’ performance and good direction elevate the film above the usual comedy dreck in theatres. Definitely one to check out when it hits Netflix in a few months.
