This weekend marks the start of a new month, and that means a fresh batch of movies will arrive on Netflix on November 1.
As usual, it’s another strong lineup of movies for the No. 1 streaming service. But if there’s one movie you should stream this weekend, the one you should watch is Game Night.
This 2018 action comedy follows three couples as their night of fun and games turns into an increasingly deadly situation.
Now, Watch With Us is sharing three reasons why you should watch Game Night on Netflix.
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Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams Are a Great Comedy Duo
It seems rare for a movie to feature a happily married couple in a movie and keep them together for the length of the film. And yet that’s exactly what Game Night does with Max (Jason Bateman) and Annie Davis (Rachel McAdams). They’re both hypercompetitive when playing games, but they’re also totally devoted to each other. That’s very refreshing.
The most surprising part is that Bateman and McAdams are really funny together. A lot of the film hinges on their ability to veer from over-the-top comedy to spots to slightly more serious moments when they attempt to save Max’s brother, Brooks Davis (Kyle Chandler), from some dangerous men. If the movie had only been about Bateman and McAdams’ characters, it would have still been a great comedy.
Jesse Plemons Has a Hilariously Understated Performance
It takes some real effort to play a role that’s meant to be funny without making the character into an overtly comedic figure. Gary Kingsbury (Jesse Plemons) is kind of a tragic figure in this story, since he’s been excluded from Max and Annie’s game night since their friend, Debbie, divorced him. Gary knows that the couple is still running events with Kevin (Lamorne Morris) and Michelle Sterling (Kylie Bunbury), as well as Ryan Huddle (Billy Magnussen) and his girlfriend, Sarah Darcy (Sharon Horgan). But Gary is stuck on the outside looking in, so to speak.
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Because Gary is also a cop, he emerges as one of the key figures in the story when Max and Annie’s search hits a dead end. The scenes in Gary’s house are some of the funniest in the movie, as he suspects Max and Annie are up to something, but he won’t call them out on it. It’s hard not to laugh at how earnest Gary seems about the whole thing, especially since a later revelation reframes Gary’s role from a new perspective.
‘Game Night’ Finds the Right Balance Between Comedy and Action
Although Game Night is an action comedy, it should probably be considered a comedy with some action. And it comes down on the side of farce more often than not. But that works because Game Night embraces the ridiculous nature of its outlandish plot, as Brooks is kidnapped from the game night, leaving Max, Annie and the rest of their friends believing that it was all part of the night’s entertainment.
Even when Max and Annie figure out that Brooks is really in danger, it’s only after they’ve put themselves in serious trouble as well. There are just enough serious moments to give the action real stakes in the movie while keeping the mood light and funny. Not every film can pull off that balancing act, but Game Night did it in style.
Game Night is now streaming on Netflix.
