(L to R) Lil Rel Howery, Jillian Bell, Nina Dobrev, Michael Hitchcock and Jamie Chung in ‘Reunion’. Photo: Republic Pictures.
Available on digital beginning June 28th, ‘Reunion’ feels more like it escaped rather than released, and the results clearly speak as to why.
Despite some game performances from usually funny people, the movie can’t overcome the stale feeling that this is a half-hearted stab at both being a comedy and murder mystery that offers little in the way of invention.
Related Article: Lil Rel Howery Talks Comedy Mystery ‘Reunion’ and Working with the Cast
Is ‘Reunion’ Worth Attending?
(L to R) Michael Hitchcock, Jillian Bell, Nina Dobrev, Jamie Chung and Lil Rel Howery in ‘Reunion’. Photo: Republic Pictures.
It is tempting to suggest that ‘Reunion’ was birthed when someone watched the Apple TV+ comedy thriller series ‘The Afterparty’ (created by Phil Lord and Chris Miller and boasting both clever plotting and a quality cast) and decided, “we could do that, but on a skimpier budget.” Yet this “new” release was actually filmed back in 2021, so at least it has that in its defense.
Still, any cinematic prosecutor could still point to the fact that it has mostly sat on a shelf since then, finally seeing a quiet release on digital initially overseas back in April. Can you, hand on heart, truly say you knew this was actually coming out?
And if that sounds overly negative, the movie itself is not without entertainment value, but that’s mostly thanks to a cast who throw themselves into trying to make some mostly unfunny, not-so-thrilling material work.
Script and Direction
Cassandra Blair in ‘Reunion’. Photo: Republic Pictures.
Written by Willie Block and Jake Emanuel, this new murder mystery recycles many of the tropes you might expect from the genre. It gathers a group together (in this case, a 20-year high school reunion), introduces the various personalities and starts to reveal the bubbling resentments among the former school mates. Some have gone on to big success, others are struggling to get their lives in order, one is a weird creepy type… You’ll honestly end up feeling like you’ve seen and heard it all before, just in vague variations.
And once the murder mystery kicks in (cue a power failure and a prime target ending up dead), things don’t improve by much, going through the motions of spotlighting potential suspects before wrapping it all up with some final twists you’ll likely see coming anyway.
Director Chris Nelson has mostly specialized in romantic comedies, and has an eye for a solid comedy cast, which is one of the few saving graces here. For the most part, the movie’s style is basic, letting the performances carry it. Yet there are moments where the editing in particular is sloppy, certain scenes coming out of nowhere with little context.
Performances
(L to R) Lil Rel Howery, Jillian Bell, Billy Magnussen, Nina Dobrev, Chace Crawford, Jamie Chung and Michael Hitchcock in ‘Reunion’. Photo: Republic Pictures.
‘Reunion’, as we’ve previously mentioned, has some known and respected comedy talents, but rarely uses them as well as it might.
Lil Rel Howery as Ray Hammond
Lil Rel Howery in ‘Reunion’. Photo: Republic Pictures.
Lil Rel Howery leans into his usual nervy, enthusiastic style, playing Ray, whose life hasn’t ended up where he might like. He’s not as successful, he’s still single and overall he’s looking at the reunion as a change to both fix the mistakes of the past and forge a better future. He’s our real way into the story, but even in Howery’s hands, Ray isn’t a particularly watchable personality. There are odd moments such as him taping beer bottles to his hands, which seems out of character for him.
Billy Magnussen as Evan West
(L to R) Billy Magnussen, and Jamie Chung in ‘Reunion’. Photo: Republic Pictures.
Billy Magnussen’s Evan is a former high school football star still nursing bitterness over an injury that ended his potential career even before it began. These days, he’s a local cop, and still friends with Ray (though their connection can be fractious) and has his own reasons for attending the event. Magnussen certainly gives his all to the role, but he’s often left struggling.
Jamie Chung as Jasmine Park
Jamie Chung in ‘Reunion’. Photo: Republic Pictures.
Jamie Chung plays a reporter who went to school with the others and had her own issues during her time there. She’s a reliably funny and charming performer here, but despite a little depth added later on, doesn’t have too much to go on and mostly sparks off of Magnussen and Howery.
Chace Crawford as Mathew Danbury
Chace Crawford in ‘Reunion’. Photo: Republic Pictures.
Chase Crawford, who has proved his comedy chops many times over on ‘The Boys’ as The Deep is here left with a mostly shallow character to embody. He does what he can to make the wealthy Matthew a slightly sleazy but still charismatic type.
Jillian Bell as Vivian Chase
Jillian Bell can always be relied upon to make smaller roles work (though these days she also tends to take bigger parts) and here, as Vivian she’s saddled with a fairly straightforward quirky outsider character, and she stays watchable despite the flaccid script.
(L to R) Jillian Bell and Michael Hitchcock in ‘Reunion’. Photo: Republic Pictures.
Michael Hitchcock as Theodore Buckley
Playing the bitter, drunken history teacher, Michael Hitchcock, like Bell, is a scene stealer when it comes to supporting roles. And honestly, the movie is lucky to have him.
Nina Dobrev as Amanda Tanner
(L to R) Jillian Bell, Michael Hitchcock, Nina Dobrev and Jamie Chung in ‘Reunion’. Photo: Republic Pictures.
Nina Dobrev is perhaps more of a surprise since she comes from more of a dramatic background. But she has comedy experience, and here is solid as the sociopathic (literally, she self-admits that), ambitious political type who offers a different flavor from the rest of the cast.
Final Thoughts
Jillian Bell in ‘Reunion’. Photo: Republic Pictures.
‘Reunion’ really doesn’t offer a whole lot that is fresh. Some of the jokes and character dynamics work, but for the most part, this is a minor entry in both the comedy and murder mystery canon.
You don’t need to be Poirot to figure out while this one died on its feet and got stuck in release limbo.
‘Reunion’ receives 5.5 out of 10 stars.
What is the plot of ‘Reunion’?
‘Reunion’ features a wild ride of twists and turns when a high school reunion gets cut short by murder. Trapped in a snowbound mansion, they race to uncover which one of their old classmates is the killer before they’re all iced out for good.
Who is in the cast of ‘Reunion’?
- Lil Rel Howery as Ray Hammond
- Billy Magnussen as Evan West
- Jillian Bell as Vivian Chase
- Jamie Chung as Jasmine Park
- Michael Hitchcock as Mr. Theodore Buckley
- Dianne Doan as Lisa Danbury
- Cassandra Blair as Meagan Cooper
- Nina Dobrev as Amanda Tanner
- Chace Crawford as Mathew Danbury
Lil Rel Howery talks ‘Reunion’.
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