Everyone has one of those friends who is extremely competitive at indoor games. The type that brings out the rules book and keeps a Scrabble dictionary on the coffee table. Game Night centres around one such couple, Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams, who love to host game nights for their friends. This group consists of another couple who have been together since school, a brain dead guy who brings a different blonde as his date to each session and the strange policeman that lives next door, but has recently split from his wife, and to his disappointment and is no longer invited.
The regular format is changed when Bateman’s older brother comes to visit. A rich successful businessman who has a much more exciting life than his brother offers to host the next games night and promises something special. The added bonus is the winner of this activity will take home his sports car. It is explained that Bateman resents that his brother has a glamorous life but being competitive can’t resist the challenge. They all turn up, the dumb guy brings a much smarter date this time, to be told that the brother has organised a fake abduction and the couples have to follow the clues to solve the puzzle.
From this point on the game goes out the window as the brother is abducted for real and the game night crew have to solve a real mystery if they are to save him. During this rescue mission, each of the couples also has to work on saving their relationships as they are confronted with different scenarios. Some of the scenes were funny and the film has a real twist that I didn’t see coming but the prolific swearing and schoolboy humour spoiled what could have been a good plot. The scene stealer is Jesse Plemons who plays the disturbing neighbour and policeman
If you are a fan of The Hangover, Couples Retreat and the like this may appeal to you but if not don’t bother and host a Game Night with your friends instead.