Starting with a clever montage of how the ultra competitive game enthusiasts Max (Jason Bateman) and Annie (Rachel McAdams) get together Game Night sets its stall out as a funny and tightly scripted comedy. Something that seems rare in the haphazard world of improvised comedy films at the moment.

Max and Annie’s regular game night with friends is turned on it’s head when Max’s more successful brother Brooks (Kyle Chandler) returns from Europe and enters them into a murder mystery event which may be more real than they would like. What follows is a very funny take on David Fincher’s The Game where what is real and what is not becomes hard to differentiate.

Where the film works is in its tightly plotted design and great performances from an ensemble cast. There is no improvised flab around the edges and conversations and moments at the beginning of the film will get referenced back at the end. And the cast has no fewer than eight key players who all leverage laughs from their roles, whether that’s the couple arguing over a celebrity one night stand or the dumb guy who has brought in a clever date as a ringer. Jesse Plemons does however steal the show as the police officer next door who became uninvited from game night when his wife left him. Hilariously creepy and awkward!

A comedy well worth watching.