Game Over, Man! (2018)

Synopsis

Alexxx (Adam DeVine), Darren (Anders Holm), and Joel (Black Anderson) work together as housekeepers at a luxury hotel. One day, their manager, Mitch (Daniel Stern), tells them they have to work a big party they’re hosting. The guest of honor is Bae Awadi (Utkarsh Ambudkar), the Bey of Tunisia, and the guys see a great opportunity. They’ve been working on a new gaming peripheral called the “Skintendo,” and they’re hoping Bae will help fund their project. Unfortunately, a group of terrorists led by Conrad (Neal McDonough) and his accomplice, Erma (Rhona Mitra), storm the hotel. Conrad demands that Bae wire $500 million to an offshore account, or else everyone at the party will die. Our unlikely heroes must unite to stop the terrorists, free the hostages, and make their dreams come true. Can these three housekeepers step into action, or will this party end in a bloodbath?

Review

I’ve seen my fair share of bad comedies for this site, including It’s Pat and Freddy Got Fingered. Thankfully, Game Over, Man! isn’t as bad as those, but it’s still a hard sit. Admittedly, I had seen bits of Workaholics, so maybe if I watched more of the show, I would’ve loved this. Still, this movie is so bereft of jokes that being more familiar with their work probably wouldn’t have helped. There are setups, but there’s either no payoff or the cast just endlessly ad-libs, dragging the scene down. Granted, there were a few jokes that got a chuckle out of me, but I mostly just groaned throughout. I’m not above laughing at juvenile humor, but this movie seems to think that just being shocking is funny. As an audience member, I can only take so many dick and fart jokes before they get stale.

To their credit, the three leads have decent chemistry, and I can see why Workaholics was successful. Unfortunately, they’re the most guilty of dragging scenes down with constant ad-libbing, almost as bad as the 2016 Ghostbusters. Daniel Stern is kinda fun as the misogynist hotel manager who meets a rather grisly fate. Despite their best efforts, Neal McDonough and Rhona Mitra feel wasted, giving serious performances in an otherwise goofy movie. Steve-O and Chris Pontius have cameos, which makes me wish I were watching the Jackass movies instead. There is a decent gag involving Shaggy, but aside from that, it feels like anyone could’ve been in that scene. I could list the other cast members, but aside from the random cameos, they’re all forgettable. Sam Richardson, I suppose, is noteworthy as this movie’s take on Theo from Die Hard, which the movie calls out.

If I could give this movie credit for anything, it’s the surprisingly decent action sequences. While they don’t match the John Wick movies, they get the job done and are quite shocking. There are a fair number of shootouts, explosions, and blood squibs that are well-staged if fairly standard. Of particular note is an inventive climax action sequence involving a dead body and a gaming headset. Sadly, these aren’t enough to make up for the lack of jokes and incredibly slow pacing. At 101 minutes, the film drags as it shifts from one poorly told gag to a decent action scene. I wouldn’t say this is totally godawful, but if you want a good action-comedy, there are much better choices. Overall, Game Over, Man! is a limp, flaccid attempt at mixing crude humor with fun action set pieces.

Watch Game Over, Man! on Netflix: http://bit.ly/3TnGoKz.