The first trailer for Warner Bros. Pictures and New line Cinema's Game Night has dropped and it looks promising. The action-comedy and mystery movie stars Rachel McAdams and Jason Bateman and centers around a group of friends whose regular game night turns into a murder mystery that feels all too real. The two stars look hilarious in this trailer as two clueless suburbanites, ill-equipped for the challenges of Game Night. Check it out, below.
In the trailer, Jason Bateman's Max seems to be the kind of cynical and sarcastic everyman that is his bread and butter. Rachel McAdams isn't necessarily best known for her comedic roles, but her mannerisms and timing look promising for an actress who excelled in Wedding Crashers and Mean Girls. The dynamic between the two characters will hopefully produce big laughs, as neither of them seems to possess the street smarts needed to excel in a game of life and death. Action comedies aren't always the easiest balance to strike but this trailer at least has great moments of both. The supporting cast also looks fantastic, highlighted by the superb Kyle Chandler. Westworld's Jeffrey Wright also makes an appearance and Jesse Plemons is seemingly channeling a funnier version of his creepy Todd from Breaking Bad. I wouldn't be surprised if there are a few funny cameos, a la The Hangover as well.
The first thing that stood out to me in this trailer, right around the time Kyle Chandler's character gets gut-punched, is the thought that OK, this feels like a comedy version of David Fincher's The Game. Taking that loose premise and using it for an action-comedy could be a neat idea. It becomes apparent for these characters rather quickly that the stakes are real and the guns aren't firing blanks, but that doesn't necessarily mean they aren't still part of a game. This should create many situations ripe for comedy, where the characters never know what is real and what isn't.
This film looks very promising and could be the type of (likely) R-rated comedy that, if good, really finds an audience at the box office. One thing that encourages me is that I don't get the sense that so often accompanies comedy trailers where everything funny in the movie has been included in the trailer. I could be wrong and the trailer could feature all the funniest moments in the film, but I feel like the studio is holding a lot back. Let's hope that's the case and this film delivers on the promise of the trailer when audiences get to see it next year.
Game Night is directed by John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein and it hits theaters on March 2, 2018. For all the movies coming out next year, check out our 2018 movie release schedule.
