By Lindsey Bahr, AP Film Writer
A murder mystery party goes sideways when violent kidnappers arrive before the fake ones in "Game Night ," which seems on the page to be like all the other disappointing action-comedies of late.
You know the kind, where ordinary, upper middle class-ish suburbanites get thrown into some wacky underworld or genre situation. Spies live next door! We have to start a casino to put our kid through school! We killed a stripper! While it's a formula that can be brilliant and/or fun (see: everything from "After Hours" to "Adventures in Babysitting"), recent efforts have seemed to result in features that feel more like extended Saturday Night Live sketches — a gimmick stretched far past its worth and padded with some car chases and contrived heart.
Thankfully, "Game Night" does not fall into that trap. A charismatic ensemble cast, a sharp script and a few well-placed twists make "Game Night" one of the more enjoyable big studio comedies in recent memory. John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein ("Vacation") direct off of a script by Mark Perez, whose credits include "Accepted" and "The Country Bears."
Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams anchor "Game Night" as Max and Annie, a married couple who love each other as much as they love games — trivia, charades, board varieties, you name it — and winning. They live in a cul-de-sac, where all middle class suburban couples live in glossy comedies, and host a weekly game night with their friends, longtime couple Michelle (Kylie Bunbury) and Kevin (Lamorne Morris) and the happy, handsome idiot Ryan (Billy Magnussen) and whatever Instagram babe he happens to have on his arm that week.
They also have a very strange next-door neighbor, Gary (Jesse Plemons), a police officer with light serial killer vibes. Always in uniform and holding his fluffy white dog, Gary just desperately wants to be included. Plemons plays him with over-the-top seriousness that makes for some of the sillier laughs early on.
The hook of the film comes when Max's brother Brooks (Kyle Chandler), a charismatic alpha male and bane of Max's existence, attempts to one-up the normal game night proceedings by arranging a pricey murder mystery event where one person is kidnapped and the rest have to try to solve it. So no one is the wiser when real kidnappers show up and beat Brooks to a pulp before taking him away, thinking that it is all part of the game. The somewhat ridiculous misunderstanding, while definitely milked for all it's worth, does eventually go away and the couples are all invested in trying to help Brooks get out of trouble. Also by this point Ryan has introduced a different kind of date in his co-worker Sarah, who is played by the wonderful Sharon Horgan.
Attempting to explain why a comedy works is a kind of futile exercise, but this group of actors just works together. They have an easy chemistry with one another that resembles that sort of lived-in friendship that usually only comes across midway through the first season of a sitcom. That and there are a lot of giddily executed movie references.
Of course "Game Night" isn't perfect, and an electric first hour gives way to a slow third act that's handicapped by the gimmick wearing thin and a too-earnest side plot about Max and Annie's shifting plans to have a kid. But it kind of redeems itself by the end with a series of twists and turns fitting of the absurd premise.
"Game Night," a Warner Bros. release, is rated R by the Motion Picture Association of America for "language, sexual references and some violence." Running time: 100 minutes. Three stars out of four.
California Gov. Newsom Signs Laws To Protect Actors Against Unauthorized Use Of AI
California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed off Tuesday on legislation aiming at protecting Hollywood actors and performers against unauthorized artificial intelligence that could be used to create digital clones of themselves without their consent.
The new laws come as California legislators ramped up efforts this year to regulate the marquee industry that is increasingly affecting the daily lives of Americans but has had little to no oversight in the United States.
The laws also reflect the priorities of the Democratic governor who's walking a tightrope between protecting the public and workers against potential AI risks and nurturing the rapidly evolving homegrown industry.
"We continue to wade through uncharted territory when it comes to how AI and digital media is transforming the entertainment industry, but our North Star has always been to protect workers," Newsom said in a statement. "This legislation ensures the industry can continue thriving while strengthening protections for workers and how their likeness can or cannot be used."
Inspired by the Hollywood actors' strike last year over low wages and concerns that studios would use AI technology to replace workers, a new California law will allow performers to back out of existing contracts if vague language might allow studios to freely use AI to digitally clone their voices and likeness. The law is set to take effect in 2025 and has the support of the California Labor Federation and the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, or SAG-AFTRA.
Another law signed by Newsom, also supported by SAG-AFTRA, prevents dead performers from being digitally cloned for commercial purposes without the permission of their estates. Supporters said the law is... Read More