Game Night

The opening scene of Game Night doesn't skip a beat as in a first-comes-love, then-comes-marriage montage between the film’s leading couple, Annie (McAdams) and Max (Bateman). The pacing never really lets up as Max’s brother Brooks (a very game Chandler) shows up at their regular game night to put his own flashy spin on things because sibling rivalry. What’s meant to be a lighthearted interactive “murder-mystery” quickly goes off the rails, because it’s never really a party until someone pisses off the mob. The film owes what charm it has to a whip-smart script, but it’s too busy pummeling you with pop-culture references and final scene fake outs, like someone wanted to make a Coen brothers movie for the Clue crowd.