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There’s a crisp chill in the air and the days are growing darker. It can only mean one thing: awards season is upon us! Okay, okay, it’s almost winter, which coincidentally is the time of year that awards show pundits start firming up their Oscar picks. I’ve combed through GoldDerby and I’ve perused the Oscar blogs, and I get that A Star is Born is the current favorite and that Olivia Colman’s going to be a threat in Best Actress for The Favourite, but why isn’t Jesse Plemons in the conversation for his brilliant supporting turn in Game Night?
Plemons plays Gary, our heroes’ odious neighbor, in Game Night. Gary is a cop, obsessed with “games of chance” and desperate for company. While Gary is funny in an awkward kind of way — like a 13-year-old who gets flustered talking to a crush — he’s also a devastating portrayal of loneliness. Plemons manages to not only milk the comedy, focusing on unsettling line delivery and carrying intense physical tension in his entire body, but he also finds a way to weigh every punchline with real tragedy. Gary longs for friendship. He misses his ex-wife and loves his little pooch. His intense need to be part of the group backfires because it makes him so aggravating to be around. It’s a tremendous scene-stealing performance that bridges the gap between comedy and tragedy.
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Game Night (2018)
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Is it so crazy to think that the Oscars might get it right this year and reward Plemons for a masterful bit of acting? Well, yes, sort of. After all, Plemons isn’t even on most Oscar prognosticators’ radar. He’s not chewing on a juicy supporting role in a shiny indie flick slotted for a December release; he was in motherfucking Game Night, a comedy that came out in the spring. The Oscars don’t usually pay attention to comedy performances — think of how Tiffany Haddish was robbed of a nomination for Girls’ Trip — but they should.
Comedy takes true mastery to pull off. And what Plemons does in Game Night is nothing short of extraordinary: he delivers a hilarious comic performance that is underpinned by real psychological pain. He is a three-dimensional character underneath the absurdity of what’s happening. It’s tremendous, it’s funny, it’s painful, and it’s definitely Oscar-worthy.
Game Night is streaming this month on HBO Now and HBO Go.
