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A30 PEOPLE & ARTS
Saturday 24 February 2018
Review: Bateman, McAdams anchor lively and fun 'Game Night'

By LINDSEY BAHR the game. The somewhat
AP Film Writer ridiculous misunderstand-
A murder mystery party ing, while definitely milked
goes sideways when vio- for all it's worth, does even-
lent kidnappers arrive be- tually go away and the
fore the fake ones in "Game couples are all invested in
Night ," which seems on the trying to help Brooks get
page to be like all the other out of trouble. Also by this
disappointing action-com- point Ryan has introduced
edies of late. a different kind of date in
You know the kind, where his co-worker Sarah, who
ordinary, upper middle is played by the wonderful
class-ish suburbanites get Sharon Horgan.
thrown into some wacky Attempting to explain why
underworld or genre situ- a comedy works is a kind
ation. Spies live next door! of futile exercise, but this
We have to start a ca- This image released by Warner Bros. Entertainment shows Rachel McAdams, left, and Jason Bate- group of actors just works
sino to put our kid through man in a scene from "Game Night." together. They have an
school! We killed a stripper! Associated Press easy chemistry with one
While it's a formula that another that resembles
can be brilliant and/or fun of the more enjoyable big suburban couples live in with over-the-top serious- that sort of lived-in friend-
(see: everything from "Af- studio comedies in recent glossy comedies, and host ness that makes for some ship that usually only comes
ter Hours" to "Adventures in memory. John Francis Dal- a weekly game night with of the sillier laughs early on. across midway through the
Babysitting"), recent efforts ey and Jonathan Goldstein their friends, longtime cou- The hook of the film comes first season of a sitcom. That
have seemed to result in ("Vacation") direct off of a ple Michelle (Kylie Bunbury) when Max's brother Brooks and there are a lot of gid-
features that feel more like script by Mark Perez, whose and Kevin (Lamorne Morris) (Kyle Chandler), a char- dily executed movie refer-
extended Saturday Night credits include "Accepted" and the happy, handsome ismatic alpha male and ences.
Live sketches — a gimmick and "The Country Bears." idiot Ryan (Billy Magnussen) bane of Max's existence, Of course "Game Night"
stretched far past its worth Jason Bateman and Rachel and whatever Instagram attempts to one-up the isn't perfect, and an elec-
and padded with some McAdams anchor "Game babe he happens to have normal game night pro- tric first hour gives way to a
car chases and contrived Night" as Max and Annie, on his arm that week. ceedings by arranging slow third act that's handi-
heart. a married couple who love They also have a very a pricey murder mystery capped by the gimmick
Thankfully, "Game Night" each other as much as strange next-door neigh- event where one person wearing thin and a too-ear-
does not fall into that trap. they love games — trivia, bor, Gary (Jesse Plemons), is kidnapped and the rest nest side plot about Max
A charismatic ensemble charades, board varieties, a police officer with light have to try to solve it. So and Annie's shifting plans
cast, a sharp script and you name it — and win- serial killer vibes. Always no one is the wiser when to have a kid. But it kind of
a few well-placed twists ning. They live in a cul-de- in uniform and holding his real kidnappers show up redeems itself by the end
make "Game Night" one sac, where all middle class fluffy white dog, Gary just and beat Brooks to a pulp with a series of twists and
desperately wants to be in- before taking him away, turns fitting of the absurd
cluded. Plemons plays him thinking that it is all part of premise.q

Next flight to Wakanda? Airports

having some fun on Twitter

By The Associated Press
Now boarding the next
flight to ... Wakanda?
Some airports had fun this
week on Twitter with the
futuristic African country in
the hit movie "Black Pan-
ther."
Orlando International Air-
port tweeted a photo of
an airplane bearing the
words "Wakanda Air" and
a black panther logo. The
tweet said the airport was
"delighted to announce ...
daily nonstop flights to the
beautiful nation of Wakan-
da."
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta
International Airport tweet-
ed a photo of a sign listing
a 7:30 p.m. departure to
This image released by the Orlando International Airport shows Wakanda with the words,
a screengrab of a Feb. 20 tweet announcing flights to Wakanda, “The bags are packed.
the fictional land from the blockbuster film, "Black Panther." #Wakanda forever.”
Associated Press
q