Just for Fun: Confess, Fletch; Honor Among Thieves; and Game Night

 Sometimes you just want to watch a fun movie that doesn't give you more than a good time. We recently saw three of them that were just plain fun and, as my mother said, silly in just the right way. They also strike me as highly rewatchable. I look forward to doing so.

Confess, Fletch

The roguishly charming and endlessly troublesome Fletch becomes the prime suspect in a murder case while searching for a stolen art collection. The only way to prove his innocence? Find out which of the long list of suspects is the culprit - from the eccentric art dealer and a missing playboy to a crazy neighbor and Fletch’s Italian girlfriend. Crime, in fact, has never been this disorganized.

This is a solid murder mystery like they don't make any more. Extremely entertaining, quick witted, funny, and keeps you guessing. Also, we need more Jon Hamm in humorous roles.

Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

A charming thief and a band of unlikely adventurers undertake an epic heist to retrieve a lost relic, but things go dangerously awry when they run afoul of the wrong people. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves brings the rich world and playful spirit of the legendary roleplaying game to the big screen in a hilarious and action-packed adventure. It's an infectiously good-spirited comedy with a solid emotional core.

This captured the sense of the gameplaying while also being a good fantasy adventure movie for any viewer. As a Baldur's Gate game player it was distinctly weird to recognize town names and city buildings and spells and suchlike. 

You know the basic beats of who will grow in what way and what sorts of personal challenges they must face. But that frees you up to sit back and enjoy the show, letting the humor and quests take you on a very entertaining ride.

Game Night

Max and Annie's weekly game night gets kicked up a notch when Max's brother Brooks arranges a murder mystery party -- complete with fake thugs and federal agents. So when Brooks gets kidnapped, it's all supposed to be part of the game. As the competitors set out to solve the case, they start to learn that neither the game nor Brooks are what they seem to be. The friends soon find themselves in over their heads as each twist leads to another unexpected turn over the course of one chaotic night.

After watching Honor Among Thieves we discovered that the same team wrote and directed Game Night, which somehow I'd missed when it came out. This is another movie where the only goal is to entertain, which it does spectacularly.

The type of movie is familiar so we could relax and go along for the ride, enjoying the twists on the familiar beats. There were so many familiar, favorite actors that it was the icing on the cake to have both Jason Bateman and Kyle Chandler in the film together. And it was really fun to see Chandler playing against type.