Game Night is side-splittingly funny

YOU never really know what to expect from a broad studio comedy. But Rachel McAdams’ latest bucks the trend and delivers a damn good laugh.

IS THERE anything Rachel McAdams can’t do?

From tense dramas to terrifying thrillers to swooning romances, McAdams rules them all. But she’s never greater than when she puts her comedic talents to the screen, and she’s never been funnier than in Game Night.

The Canadian Oscar-nominated actor has impeccable timing in both verbal sparring and physical comedy. Her warmth and joyful zest is a perfect match for the more sardonic spirit of Jason Bateman, her on-screen husband — they’re such good scene partners it’s a wonder no one has put them together before.

Directed by John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein (screenwriters behind Horrible Bosses, Spider-Man: Homecoming and Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs 2), Game Night is a surprisingly solid and funny comedy that relies largely on the charisma and flair of its stars.

With a cast that also includes all your favourite TV actors — Kyle Chandler, Sharon Horgan, Lamorne Morris, Jesse Plemons, Kylie Bunbury, Chelsea Peretti and Michael C. Hall — and the likes of Danny Huston and Billy Magnussen, there’s no shortage of hilarity in the hands of these pros.

The new comedy dream team.

Game Night plunges you into the action with its clever set-up, the story of Annie (McAdams) and Max (Bateman), a competitive husband-and-wife duo who fall in love over a pub trivia night. Their shared passion for games and winning spills over into their lives, especially with Max’s rivalry against his more handsome, taller and successful brother Brooks (Chandler).

When Brooks comes into town, he hijacks their regular game night, inviting the crew, which also includes four friends, to his rented mansion. He ominously promises them a game night to remember (dun, dun, dun).

What starts off as a murder mystery party quickly descends into chaos when real-life gangsters bang the door down and kidnap Brooks after a violent scuffle. What’s real and what’s fake is what everyone has to figure out.

Game Night deliberately sets out to be obfuscating with layers within layers of story, kind of like a pass-the-parcel. Its twisty structure is a direct homage to all those challenges any player would face in a board game, video game or otherwise, and owes more than a little to the movie adaptation of Cluedo. If you try to track it too closely, it won’t necessarily hold together, so it’s better to just go along with the crazy ride.

Absolutely the guys you want to spend time with.

There are some smart, creative flourishes in the direction that add a nice touch, such as wide shots that make Annie and Max’s cul-de-sac neighbourhood look like a Game of Life board, or the energetically choreographed game of touch footy with the Faberge egg.

Many of its jokes are predictable and well-trodden but a lot of the humour is also unexpectedly witty, especially for a broad studio comedy.

But Game Night would be nothing if not for its appealing cast and every one of them delivers — Plemons as the extraordinarily straight-laced neighbour with his deadpan performance is side-splittingly good. Prepare to laugh yourself silly because you’re in for a really good time.

Rating: 3.5/5

Game Night is in cinemas from today.

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