The Game
1997
It's My Party...
Summary Capsule: A workaholic exec is treated to a special "game" by his brother, only to become wrapped in complex intrigue and the ultimate con.
Justin's Rating: Beats the poop outta Disclosure, that's for sure.
Justin's Review: I have a few rules about movies that set out to screw with the audience's mind. First off, it has to make sense at the end. I've seen way too many "surprise plot twist endings" that not only were impossible to predict (Wild Things, American Psycho), but they also made no sense once you look back at the film for a second time. Second, the journey -- a mix of mystery and suspense -- has to be enjoyable along the way, not a tedious plod through an elaborate setup that's only fun once you get to the end. Fortunately, David Fincher's odyssey of intrigue and circles-within-circles The Game did not violate my rules, and it's so much the better for it.
I initially saw this film with the late Kym, who went in the theater with me expecting nothing at all. That's the best kind of movie experience, I think, to discover a terrific film all on your own, without any help from critics or widespread word of mouth. When we came out of The Game, my mind was spinning with questions and thoughts (many of which are down below), but I left feeling satisfied. I like having to chew over a movie that managed to slip the rubber sheet right out from under me. Recently, only a few movies have come close to the satisfaction that I got from The Game, and I'll list them here: The Usual Suspects, Fight Club, and The Spanish Prisoner. And I assure you that none of those films have the sheer number of plot twists and surprises as The Game.
I mean, with a title and theme like this, it gets me wondering what the next game-to-movie transition might be. Perhaps Candyland: The Peanut Brittle Wars. Mousetrap: Beyond Thunderdrome. Uno, Part Dos. You Bet Yer Sorry! Trivial Pursuit of Love. Who knows?
So what to say about this movie without spoiling it? Virtually nothing. Like Morpheus said in The Matrix, you have to experience The Game for yourself. Trust me, no matter how confused you might be watching it, at least Michael Douglas is there to echo your bewilderment along the way. It's a trip, and I guaruntee you'll be thinking about it days afterwards. Sure, you might develop a deep mistrust of clown dummies and red bras, but it's all for the best. Heh. Heh.
Kyle's Rating: Figure out if you’re reading a real review . . . or not!
Kyle's Review: The Game is a film so nice you must see it twice. Just sit there stoically through the first viewing, watching as Michael Douglas gets a mysterious gift from brother Sean Penn and then proceeds to lose control over his highly compartmentalized life. What’s really going on? Who the hell is that? How did he know that? Is that Michael Douglas’ real hair? These are the questions you’ll be asking during The Game, though you’ll be pleased to find the answers by the end. The second viewing will allow you to recognize things you might have missed and let you see the plot with your eyes wide open, so to speak. Trust me, trust in life, and trust that you’ll love The Game. But don’t trust any strange birthday presents from now on, alright?
Didja Notice?
Michael Douglas' character was also named "Nick" in Basic Instinct and Black Rain.
At the end of the film, one of the EMTs says "I'm going to check your pulse." This EMT is none other than hit music video and film director, Spike Jonze. This cameo is funny because it is later in 1999's Spike Jonze film "Being John Malkovich" that David Fincher has an equally short cameo appearance.
David Fincher is renowned for plot twists and dark endings. However, the end of The Game differed from his other movies in one key respect, what was it? [to find out, MAJOR SPOILERS, highlight this text: Although his main character attempted suicide, he never died. In Alien 3 Ripley died, in Fight Club Tyler was killed, and Se7en both Gweneth Paltrow and Kevin Spacey were killed]
The Movie Store!
The Game: Movie [VHS]
The Game: Movie [DVD]
Intermission!
Jodie Foster was originally going to star, but was dropped from what she viewed as a firm commitment from PolyGram (the same company her own production company, Egg Pictures, is affiliated with). She sued PolyGram. The case was settled before trial for an undisclosed amount.
The Game, Step By Step
To read our analysis of the layout of The Game and its many questions and problems, Click Here. WARNING: The whole movie will be spoiled for you, so watch it once or twice first!
Groovy Quotes:
Nicholas Van Orton: I'm being toyed with by a bunch of depraved children!
Daniel Schorr: Discovering the object of the game IS the object of the game.
Nicholas van Orten: There goes a thousand dollars.
Christine: Your shoes cost a thousand dollars?
Nicholas van Orten: That one did.
If you liked this movie, try these:
The Usual Suspects
Se7en
Fight Club
*** The Circles
The Game (in the film) is constructed of (at least) five circles, layered within each other to complicate the audience and the hero figuring out the true purpose.
The Innocent Game (layer one): As Nicholas sees it initially, The Game is a largely amateurish series of pranks and contrived events, all suited to annoy him and disrupt his life.
The Con (layer two): Nicholas discoveres that CRS is using The Game as a front to swindle him (and other rich people) out of his fortune, using the tests they gave him and other info gathered during the previous events as tools to crack into his account. This culminates in the loss of everything he owns, an attempt on his life, and an (unexplained) kidnapping to Mexico.
The Con Unraveled (layer three): Nicholas comes back determined to expose The Game, and begins to find evidence for the grift all over the place. Using ruthless tactics, he barges in CRS's headquarters to try to bring the bad guys to justice.
The Game Reinstated (layer four): This is more for the audience, as Nicholas does not believe that The Game, in its innocence, has been continuing. However, the audience is privvy to the fact that CRS is still trying to operate The Game, and that Nicholas has lost it and seems to be on the verge of causing a major accident.
The Finale (layer five): We discover that The Game has been an elaborate... game designed to confront Nicholas with the death of his father and his lack of zeal for life. At the end, we are left with the impression that everything in the movie, from beginning to end, was completely scripted. Nothing was left to chance, even with a wild variable such as Nicholas.
*** The Questions
Once you finish the film, there are a number of burning questions left unanswered (for us to speculate on), particularly in concern to the sheer scope of The Game. Here is a list of questions and statements I came up with:
1. The setup of The Game for Nicholas must have commenced long before the start of the film, due to the cooperation required of everyone in his life. How was this accomplished behind his back?
2. Were the actors used in The Game real actors used in other TV/Movie appearances (as explained in layer three), and if so, wouldn't they be too highly recognizable for The Game/the con? I think a more simple explanation is that everything said in layer three was contrived as well -- none of these actors were famous elsewhere, they just constructed that facade to lead Nicholas to believe the elaborate con.
3. Nicholas uses a revolver taken from the private detective to shoot out a tire. Either CRS did not think he'd use the pistol, or they rigged the car to blow a tire when he shot it (which is incredibly unbelievable), or they did give him a loaded pistol (which was determined later in the film not to be the case).
4. The basement "hospital" must have been constructed (since it's in the basement of the CRS building, it wasn't a true hospital). How did that many people just disappear when they flicked the lights off?
5. What was in Nicholas' locked briefcase that he couldn't open (either his papers, the pictures, or something else)?
6. How did they rig the TV/CNN guy to flip back and forth from a normal broadcast? Or was it fake from the start?
7. How did they know that Nicholas would leap from that exact spot, break through the glass, and land right on that airbag? He could've leapt from any other part of the roof.
8. Did CRS have backups to ensure Nicholas' safety, such as when the car goes into the water?
9. Were there any people in the film NOT a part of The Game, and if so, who were they?
10. How many people were surveying Nicholas, and where did they place the cameras?
11. As Nicholas catches little mistakes in CRS's Game, how many of them were meant to be found, and if so, how did they time his discoveries (example: finding the price tags in Christine's apartment)?
12. Considering how much trouble CRS went to create their headquarters, why did they create such a fake apartment for Christine when it would've been so much simpler to put real books on the shelves and take the price tags off?
13. Did CRS use real bullets to shoot up the apartment, or blanks and squibs?
14. If CRS wanted Nicholas to believe the con was real, what is the logic in kidnapping him and bringing him to Mexico? Sure, they couldn't kill him, but that's the impression of them that Nicholas had from the apartment shoot-out.
15. How did CRS find out about the hidden revolver in the book? And wouldn't blanks be easy to spot in a revolver?
16. How much of The Game did CRS have to set up on the fly, based on Nicholas' abrupt decisions (such as meeting his wife at the restaurant)?
17. Was the carjacker part of the CRS team, and if so, was he there to verify Nicholas' gun?