History Film / GameNight

* ChekhovsSkill: Max and Annie have to communicate through charades in the climax. Like nearly everything else in the movie, it's {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d.

** The movie opens with Max and Annie meeting at a bar trivia contest, the leaders of their respective teams, and answering [[BirdsOfAFeather the same question at the same time]]. It even gives a close-up of their faces as they meet eyes and get flustered. A quick montage shows them playing other games and eventually Max proposing to Annie via a charades game, with the title appearing at their wedding (with ''VideoGame/DanceDanceRevolution'' behind them). It is [[BookEnds bookended]] with [[spoiler:Annie doing a ''Pictionary'' game outlining "bun in the oven" as her way of telling Max she's pregnant. It even gives a similar close up of their faces as they smile at each other]].

** Max describes his reluctance to settle down with Annie using ''VideoGame/PacMan'' as a metaphor. He says that when they used to play the game together, they stayed alive by eating the pellets and avoiding the fruit (since "that's how they [the ghosts] get you"), but neither of them ever made it on the leaderboard. Annie disappointedly deduces that Max believes that them starting a family will permanently bar him from "the leaderboard of life", and notes that Brooks is AlwaysSomeoneBetter to him because he's always "gone for the fruit", which is why "the ghosts" [[spoiler:(the criminals after Brooks)]] are going to "eat" [[spoiler:(kill)]] him. [[spoiler:Once they start getting into the dangerous chases of the climax, Annie sarcastically asks if that's the "fruit" of their relationship Max had in mind. Come the end of the film, his "fruit" becomes starting a family.]]
*** During the first of these scenes, Annie also notes that she would crush Max in ''VideoGame/{{Galaga}}''.

** [[spoiler:Gary]] set up a majority of the night's events, which included beating up Brooks, assaulting a real actor, emotionally tormenting the others, especially Max and Annie, and Max getting shot. At the end, [[spoiler:he's part of the group again]], with no ill will towards anything they were put through. In fairness, though, [[spoiler:he did get shot for real and severely injured shortly after his actions were revealed.]] Maybe they figured that was punishment enough.

* TakeThat: The first riddle of the murder mystery is "With shiny fangs, my bloodless bite will bring together what's
mostly white." Kevin's first guess? UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump. [[spoiler:It's actually a stapler (the "bloodless bite" being the stapling, and "what's mostly white" being papers).]]

* DynamicEntry: In the plane in the climax, Max decides to surprise the bad guy by dropping in from an overhead hatch. While he does initially get the upper hand, it was far more complicated than needed as the bad guy could [[WithCatlikeTread hear him moving above]] them and watched as the hatch opened up. Annie later does one herself to rescue him saying "That's how you make an entrance."

* ContrivedCoincidence: [[spoiler:Gray's fake kidnapping plot happens to target Brooks, a man who's in the smuggling business and ''does'' have to worry about being kidnapped, at the same time Brooks arranges to be "kidnapped" as part of a mystery game.]]

*** Max references ''Film/PrimalFear'' and ''Film/TheIncredibleHulk2008'' when trying to get his team to guess Creator/EdwardNorton, but his team guesses all the ''other'' Hulk actors from films and TV series instead of that one. He first identifies him to Annie as "the famous actor that we met at the airport about eight years ago", to which she guesses Bobby Flay.

** Max describes his reluctance to settle down with Annie using ''VideoGame/PacMan'' as a metaphor. He says that when they used to play the game together, they stayed alive by eating the pellets and avoiding the fruit (since "that's how they [the ghosts] get you"), but neither of them ever made it on the leaderboard. Annie disappointedly deduces that Max believes that them starting a family will permanently bar him from "the leaderboard of life", and notes that Brooks is AlwaysSomeoneBetter to him because he's always "gone for the fruit", which is why "the ghosts" [[spoiler:(the criminals after Brooks)]] are going to "eat" [[spoiler:(kill)]] him. [[spoiler:Once they start getting into the dangerous chases of the climax, Annie snarks if that's the "fruit" of their relationship Max had in mind. Come the end of the film, his "fruit" becomes starting a family.]]

** Max mentions wanting to "get the drop" on the Bulgarian through the top exit in the plane, but his entrance is uncoordinated and sloppy, so he gets seen. Annie later drops a fire extinguisher on the Bulgarian's head and says, "Now ''that's'' how you get the drop on someone."

* FailedAttemptAtDrama: Ryan tries to overcompensate for his ComicallySmallBribe to the "Murder We Wrote" employee by sliding each bill slowly across the table. When it gets to the point that he's sliding a dollar bill over a table at a painfully slow speed, Sarah finally bursts out that it doesn't matter ''how'' slowly his passes it over, it's the pathetic amount of money that's the problem.

* FishOutOfWater: On a meta-level, the crux of the movie's humour revolves around a group of middle-class suburban types bumbling into a gritty crime thriller.

* GoshDangItToHeck: Gary is averse to foul language, as shown at one point when Max tells him to "stop fucking with us", and he replies that he's "not ''fudging'' with [them]".

* RunningGag: Early on, Kevin is surprised that Brook's glass table doesn't break when he is thrown onto it. Later, when Ryan tackles a man onto another glass table that doesn't break, he comments, "Glass tables are acting weird tonight!"

mostly white." Kevin's first guess? UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump.
* TurbineBlender: A {{mook|s}} holds Annie at gunpoint right next to a private jet plane. The turbine turns on and the mook gets sucked in it complete with some CGI gore out the other end.

** The opening montage includes Max and Annie meeting at a game night and smiling broadly into the camera at each other. Max then proposes to Ann through a game of ''Pictionary''. In the end, [[spoiler:Annie reveals that she's pregnant through a game of ''Pictionary'', and her and Max smile broadly at each other into the camera]].

When the big night arrives, Brooks reveals that the game is going to be a murder mystery. As armed men barge in and drag Brooks away, Max and his friends initially think it's AllPartOfTheShow; turns out it's a very real abduction, and Max will have to solve the mystery fast if he doesn't want to turn it into a murder.

--->'''Brooks:''' Whoa. Well, look at that. [[spoiler:Put a bungee cord in your hand]], you go straight to the pervy place, don't ya?

* HollywoodBoardGames: Annie and Max prefer to communicate by means of ''Pictionary'' games, playing BoardGames a pastime they both enjoy and find relaxing. Sometimes, it's for important matters -- Max proposes to her by drawing a ring and [[spoiler:Annie reveals to him that she's pregnant by drawing a "bun in the oven"]]. Other times, it's more casual things such as Gary's InUniverse TearJerker reaction to ''Film/TheGreenMile''.

* MajorInjuryUnderreaction: Downplayed. When Max is shot in the arm by a dropped gun, he reacts with a degree of shock and surprise but not exactly the extreme pain you would expect. He shows far more pain when Annie tries removing the bullet, which turned out to be pointless because there was an exit wound and thus no bullet to remove. She still ends up tapping on his ''exposed bone'' and their reaction is more curiosity than anything else, although both had trouble with [[VomitDiscretionShot keeping their constitution]]. In the climax, Max gets a knife thrown in his arm, making him drop his gun, and he comments more in anger that it landed right in his already existing bullet hole, and he proceeds to still have an extended scuffle with little discomfort.

** The movie opens with Max and Annie meeting at a bar trivia contest, the leaders of their respective teams, and answering [[BirdsOfAFeather the same question at the same time]]. It even gives a close-up of their faces as they meet eyes and get flustered. A quick montage shows them playing other games and eventually Max proposing to Annie via a charades game, with the title appearing at their wedding (with ''VideoGame/DanceDanceRevolution'' behind them). It is {{Book End}}ed with [[spoiler:Annie doing a ''Pictionary'' game outlining "bun in the oven" as her way of telling Max she's pregnant. It even gives a similar close up of their faces as they smile at each other]].

* IHaveAFamily: Annie tries to get out of being shot by claiming she has children:

** Finally {{parodied|Trope}} by the film's end: [[spoiler:Max declares that he's ready to have kids with Annie and accept the responsibility of being a father, to which Brooks leans in and tells them that he engineered the ''entire night's events,'' including millions of dollars' worth of property damage and at least one death, to teach his brother the lessons he needed to learn. As Annie and Max stare in shocked silence, Brooks tells the unconscious Bulgarian to get up and break character; he doesn't, and Brooks admits after a {{beat}} that he's [[ItAmusedMe just fucking with his brother.]]]]

* EpicTrackingShot: The group ends up having to steal a valuable item from a wealthy home, and spend several minutes tossing it to each other while avoiding security on both the first and second floor, all done to at least resemble TheOner (various {{Whip Pan}}s and other visual effects hide the edits).

** [[spoiler:Gary]] set up a majority of the night's events which included beating up Brooks, assaulting a real actor, emotionally tormenting the others, especially Max and Annie, and Max getting shot. At the end, [[spoiler:he's part of the group again]], with no ill will towards anything they were put through. In fairness though [[spoiler:he did get shot for real and severely injured shortly after his actions were revealed.]] Maybe they figured that was punishment enough.

* MajorInjuryUnderreaction: Downplayed, when Max is shot in the arm by a dropped gun he reacts with a degree of shock and surprise but not exactly the extreme pain you would expect. He shows far more pain when Annie tries removing the bullet, which turned out to be pointless because there was an exit wound and thus no bullet to remove. She still ends up tapping on his ''exposed bone'' and their reaction is more curiosity than anything else, although both had trouble with [[VomitDiscretionShot keeping their constitution]]. In the climax, Max gets a knife thrown in his arm, making him drop his gun, and he comments more in anger that it landed right in his already existing bullet hole, and he proceeds to still have an extended scuffle with little discomfort.

* TheOner: The main characters being chased around the mansion with the Faberge egg, which they throw between each other like a football, is filmed and cut to appear as one continuous shot.

* RecklessGunUsage: Annie ends up in possession of Brooks's ankle gun, a snubnose revolver. She thinks it's a fake gun that's AllPartOfTheShow, and spends half the film playing with it like a toy, even putting the barrel in her mouth for a selfie. When she hands it off to Max, he doesn't even bother holding it remotely properly, instead palming it sideways. When Brooks tells her it's a real gun, she does a test fire at which point it goes off and shatters a light, and she immediately drops it, shooting Max in the arm.

* RightWingMilitiaFanatic: Annie finds instructions on how to remove a bullet on "an alt-right militia website", and mentions having to look past "the racist stuff" in order to follow the steps.

* ShoutOut: There are [[ReferenceOverdosed lots of them]].

** Annie pulls off an over-the-top stick-up at a bar while quoting Honey Bunny's line from ''Film/PulpFiction'', which Max identifies by name.

** When Annie complains about her phone's screen turning off while trying to remove Max's bullet, he advises that she go in her settings and change the timing "so that it doesn't revert to sleep mode." Annoyed by the level of detail Max went into, Annie replies, "What are you, UsefulNotes/SteveJobs?"

** [[spoiler:In confessing to Max that he cheated his way to success, Brooks admits that he had Max sit in a specific place while they played ''TabletopGame/{{Battleship}}'' as kids so he could see his ships. He then says, "I cheated at the TabletopGame/GameOfLife, ''and'' at the game of life."]]

*** Max references ''Film/PrimalFear'' and ''Film/TheIncredibleHulk2008'' when trying to get his team to guess Creator/EdwardNorton, but his team guesses all the ''other'' Hulk actors films and TV series instead of that one. He first identifies him to Annie as "the famous actor that we met at the airport about eight years ago", to which she guesses Bobby Flay.

''Game Night'' is an 2018 BlackComedy film (with elements of action, crime, mystery and thriller) directed by Creator/JohnFrancisDaley and Jonathan Goldstein and written by Mark Perez. The film stars Creator/JasonBateman and Creator/RachelMcAdams, and the supporting cast includes Creator/KyleChandler, Creator/BillyMagnussen, Creator/SharonHorgan, Creator/LamorneMorris, Creator/KylieBunbury, Creator/JessePlemons, Creator/MichaelCHall and Creator/JeffreyWright.

** Annie is an intelligent woman who is great at game night and makes substantial contributions to the group's success throughout the evening, but she does have moments where she makes some ditzy mistakes and misconceptions, such as when Brooks says they can't go to the cops because the Bulgarian has got "a ton of moles" and she questions back "on his face?!?" or when she orders a vodka tonic when she's supposed to be ordering a drink with complicated ingredients.

*** At one point, Kevin tries to guess who the celebrity was. Upon Michelle saying that he was over 40 and American, he lands on Creator/TommyLeeJones ("ew, no") and Creator/DenzelWashington ("it wasn't, unfortunately").

** After kicking the (legitimately) downed Agent Henderson and finding that he refuses to get up, Ryan is impressed and calls him "a regular Creator/DanielDayLewis".

*** After Ryan locks Kevin and Michelle in a room in Brooks's mansion, Kevin plans to burn down the door with matches. When Michelle points out the stupidity of lighting a fire in a windowless room that they're stuck in, Kevin, still frustrated from the above reveal, snarks that the celebrity must've been Series/BillNyeTheScienceGuy for her to know so much about fire.

** Max describes his reluctance to settle down with Annie using ''VideoGame/PacMan'' as a metaphor. He says that when they used to play the game together, they stayed alive by eating the pellets and avoiding the fruit, but neither of them ever made it on the leaderboard. Annie disappointedly deduces that Max believes that them starting a family will permanently bar him from "the leaderboard of life", and notes that Brooks is AlwaysSomeoneBetter to him because he's always "gone for the fruit", which is why "the ghosts" [[spoiler:(the criminals after him)]] are going to "eat" [[spoiler:(kill)]] him. [[spoiler:Once they start getting into the dangerous chases of the climax, Annie snarks if that's the "fruit" of their relationship Max had in mind. Come the end of the film, his "fruit" becomes starting a family.]]

* ShoutOut: There are [[ReferenceOverdosed many of them]].

** Ryan and Sarah get spooked by the "Murder We Wrote" employee, who's asleep when they find her, suddenly awakening in her chair.

** [[spoiler:When racing Brooks's Stingray to the Bulgarian's plane in the climax, Max says that he has an idea that might be CrazyEnoughToWork. Annie immediately responds that he's going to crash the car into the plane "like Creator/LiamNeeson" in ''[[Film/{{Taken}} Taken 3]]''", and that's exactly what he does. Annie remarks shortly after that Max is "not Liam Neeson"; it genuinely hurts his feelings, and she apologizes.]]

'''Annie''': You're gonna [[spoiler:crash the car into the plane like Creator/LiamNeeson in ''Film/{{Taken}} 3'']]?\\

** [[spoiler:When racing Brooks's Stingray to the Bulgarian's plane in the climax, Max says that he has an idea that might be CrazyEnoughToWork. Annie immediately responds that he's going to crash the car into the plane "like Creator/LiamNeeson" in ''Film/{{Taken}}'' 3"; sure enough, that's what he does. Annie remarks shortly after that Max is "not Liam Neeson"; it genuinely hurts his feelings, and she apologizes.]]

* DumbassHasAPoint: Ryan is right about the Faberge egg being on the same floor of the mansion as the FightClubbing. He even mutters about finally being right about something.

** Kevin calls [[spoiler:the fight club]] "some ''Film/DjangoUnchained'' bullshit" and "''[[Film/EyesWideShut Eyes Wide]]'' ''Film/FightClub''".

** Max describes his reluctance to settle down with Annie using ''VideoGame/PacMan'' as a metaphor. He says that when they used to play the game together, they stayed alive by eating the pellets and avoiding the fruit, but neither of them ever made it on the leaderboard. Annie disappointedly deduces that Max believes that them starting a family will permanently bar him from "the leaderboard of life", and notes that Brooks is AlwaysSomeoneBetter to him because he's always "gone for the fruit", which is why "the ghosts" [[spoiler:(the criminals after him)]] are going to "eat" [[spoiler:(kill)]] him. [[spoiler:Once they start getting into dangerous chases around the climax, Annie snarks if that's the "fruit" of their relationship Max had in mind. Come the end of the film, his "fruit" becomes starting a family.]]