- Release year: 2024
- Director: Chris Nelson.
- Producers: Todd Garner, Lil Rel Howery, Mark Korshak, Peter Principato, Mickey Schiff and Ben Silverman.
- Screenplay by: Willie Block and Jake Emanuel.
- Cinematography by: Dino Parks.
- Music by: Fil Eisler.
Synopsis: during a high school reunion, the rich bully is killed. The suspects are snowed in at his house and try to figure out who did it until the police can get there.
Shotgun Commentary: super fun murder mystery. Hilariously predictable, but charming nonetheless.
Review
Reunion is a very simple murder mystery with hilarious characters and a twisted story full of distractions and revelations. While it is very likely that you figure out who the killer is before the actual victim is killed, like yours truly, it is still a delight to unwrap the mystery layer by layer. If you are a murder mystery fan, do watch this on your next movie night!
The ABC of murder mystery
The story follows a cop, Evan (Billy Magnussen), and his best friend Ray (Lil Rel Howery). Together they go to their high school reunion, an event where they meet their old mates and remember “the good old times” while getting way too drunk. As a result, a small group ends up crashing at the place of the event, Mathew’s (Chace Crawford) house. When Mathew is found dead the next morning and all contact with the exterior is cut off, they begin to suspect each other.
The narrative is simple, the details obvious, and their behaviour telling. Every important moment is underlined in order for you to go “wait a minute, that’s suspicious”, and every clue has its few seconds of close-up to make its importance known. In fact, there are so many clues as to what is going on that, thinking in retrospective, you’ll realise you’ve missed a few. Not that it matters, because you’ll solve the case regardless. If you’ve always wanted to brag about your deduction abilities, this is the movie to do so.
The motley crew
Aside from the beautiful cinematography and great editing, which are the main snitches of the show, the characters are so stereotypical that you won’t have any trouble weeding out the impossible killers. Despite their zero alibi, their innocence will be as clear as day, especially to fans of the genre.
Amanda (Nina Dobrev) the politician and Vivian (Jillian Bell) the weird cat-loving woman are by far the most hilarious. Their outspoken personalities and lack of regard towards anyone else’s feelings make them incredibly entertaining. Additionally, both Dobrev and Bell fully commit to their roles and visibly have a lot of fun doing so, completely unafraid of being as ridiculous as they need to be.
On the opposite side of the spectrum, you’ve got Jasmine (Jamie Chung) and Evan. The “girl next door” and the cop are the most serious characters. They have some unspoken thing going on and bring some reason into the madness of the group.
Source: Reunion (Chris Nelson, 2024).
Lastly, Ray is the guy who never left town. He doesn’t have a very serious job and everyone underestimates him, even though he’s only a nice guy spreading optimism. Howery does a great job bringing Ray to life, his character is thankfully not as cliché as the one in Harold and Purple Crayon (2024, Review coming soon!), so he has more space to showcase his talent and, most of all, his charisma.
But at least it’s pretty
The production design is a big selling point of the feature. When the story gets a bit too easy, the outfits, styling, house decorations and overall aesthetics of the mystery maintains your attention. Bold colours and big contrasts rule the screen, accompanied by big black and white surfaces to make them pop even further. Amanda’s main outfit comes to mind, but so does Vivian’s party look and the living room decor. If nothing else, the film will offer some interior design and styling inspiration.
All in all, Reunion is fun in its simplicity, entertaining in its unravelling and appealing thanks to its characters. Don’t expect to get your mind blown or anything like that, but you’ll have a nice time if you’re a mystery fan.
Advice to take from this movie:
- It’s not a good murder mystery if there is no candlestick involved.
- In this genre, the more extra the characters, the better.
- There IS such thing as too many clues.
Source: Reunion (Chris Nelson, 2024).
What’s your take? Have you watched Reunion? When did you figure out what was going on? What tipped you off? Don’t hesitate to let me know your thoughts in the comments section below, or leave a message in my contact page! For more reviews and cinema-related articles, check out the rest of my blog! 😀
I think Ray was wrong about Evan’s partner was Lisa. While searching the murder weapon, why did Vivian put the 2 hangers in her bag in the dressing room. She said there was no gun in the room without searching it. Then she said it was clean without looking under the bed. And she tried to give the impression that she was lying on the bed, which she probably never touched.
I’m afraid it was so long ago I barely remember any of it, but I do remember there were a few loose ends, indeed. The story could’ve done with a few more rewrites to polish it.