Game Night | Teen Ink

Game Night

January 7, 2020
By MovieReviewer_18 ELITE, Short Hills, New Jersey
MovieReviewer_18 ELITE, Short Hills, New Jersey
678 articles 0 photos 8 comments

 Game Night proves to be a surprisingly enjoyable comedy that combines hilarious drama with the very best of game night to form a truly entertaining adventure. Revolving around Max and Annie, the movie tells the story of a couple that is known for their awesome game night. They play game night once a week every week for just about as long as they can remember, playing with some of their closest friends, as well as their significant others, to enjoy a fun activity with some of their favorite people. Game night is an important part of Max and Annie's lives, and it is one of their favorite traditions that they always look forward to. However, their latest game night is completely transformed when Max's brother decides to show up. Max and his brother, Brooks, have an uneasy relationship at best, and it mostly involves Max feeling like he's forced into the shadow of his brother. Brooks is immensely successful, proud, confident, and is never afraid of putting himself above Max, so much so that Max feels neglected even with his friends when Brooks is around. This is why Max is particularly upset when Brooks begins to steal Max's thunder at game night and create a special version of the tradition with a murder mystery party. Brooks claims that this new version of game night will definitely be far more exciting and interesting for everyone to interact with, and because Brooks is quite wealthy, everyone is eagerly anticipating what Brooks is going to come up with. Through the addition of fake criminals and investigators, including federal agents, it seems like that whatever comes next will just be a part of the game. This means that when Brooks is kidnapped, everyone just naturally assumes that everything is going finely and this is just meant to be an additional extra to the game. As the contestants of the game begin to interact with what they believe to just be additional components of Brooks's version of game night, they all attempt to solve the game's case. However, as the players find themselves getting further involved in the case, they begin to question what they can actually believe. Brooks and the game seem to differ from what they appear to be, and the group quickly discovers that they might all be in way above their wildest imaginations as they deal with plenty of startling twists and surprises. As the competitors experience one of the craziest game nights of their life, they all have their lives transform during one of the most hectic nights of their entire life. 

 Game Night proves to be a charming and hilarious comedy that brings out the best in its earnestly entertaining story and well-written plot. Concise and cohesive in its entirety, the movie manages to transform into a true roller coaster ride with a definitive start and finish. The beginning of the movie manages to do a fantastic job of introducing Max and Annie, as well as the impact that game nights have had on their lives. This immediately gives audiences a better picture of why they value this tradition of theirs so much and why game nights are actually so treasured by Max in particular. The establishment of this value helps to also explore the relationship between Max and Annie, as well as between Max and Brooks. This ensures that later character development will be formed with ease and that emotional and personal drama will become a normality for the later portion of the film. The middle of the movie does an efficient job of progressing the plot along, and while there may not be too many bewildering aspects, the characters of the film are able to become even more compelling and captivating as more action is involved. The enticing ending of the movie manages to excellently wrap up the entire story together, and nearly all of the loose ends are tied up with the inclusion of plenty of truly fun highlights of game night at its finest. 
 Game Night might be that complex of a movie in its premise, but it still manages to become mysterious in its entirety. The entire plot is so clouded in what's real and what's not, which means none of the viewers really know what is actually going to happen until the very end. Serving as an astonishingly creative story, the movie utilizes a clever and enthusiastic script that earnestly brings out the best in its star-studded cast. The movie has a well-directed plot that feels like it's all heading towards a very specific and definitive end, which is high-spirited enough to place watchers on the edges of their seats eager for what comes next. 

 Game Night stupendously allows its exuberant ensemble of a cast to shine as one of the main focal points of the film, and this is what allows the true beauty and hidden impact of game night to become so influential and impactful. Game night is no longer made a dreaded event that involves bringing out the worst in a family, especially through the usage of getting overly competitive, but instead this same competitiveness is applied to continuing to maintain relationships with loved ones. This allows the movie to become particularly engaging, and with the ability of its cast to revel in their roles, audiences find themselves entangled in the raw energy of a wild adventure. Equally parts funny and dramatic, the movie is able to perfectly balance between mystery and crime in a lovable adventure. It may not be perfect, but this movie is definitely worth giving a chance. 


The author's comments:

"You’re not going to know what’s real and what’s fake." - Brooks


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