AllYouCanTech

Renowned Comedy from the 2010s Rises in Popularity on Netflix

“Game Night,” co-helmed by John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, and my fondness for the movie is not merely due to its stellar ensemble (headed by Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams) or its whimsically absurd concept (where a group of friends’ game night includes a fabricated kidnapping that escalates into something real). I actually viewed this film — now streaming on Netflix — in theaters during its original release, at a cinema located in Miami. It was one of those upscale, feature-rich movie theaters with seats that felt more like sofas, and they provide blankets; honestly, experiencing a film there was akin to lounging at a friend’s home. An all-around splendid evening at the cinema. But I’m getting sidetracked.

My affection for films like “Game Night” primarily stems from the scarcity of mid-tier comedies being produced in Hollywood these days. Everything appears to fall into the category of either an eccentric indie film or a colossal blockbuster, leaving little space for the light-hearted comedies that defined my younger days, which audiences seem disinterested in now (Case in point: The lackluster box office performance of Aziz Ansari’s directorial debut “Good Fortune,” which has reportedly made just over half of its $30 million production budget, contingent upon which estimate you refer to).