Reunion (2024) Review!!

Synopsis – Snowbound at their high school reunion, former classmates uncover a murder and scramble to identify the killer among them before they’re all iced out for good.

My Take – Thanks to the massive critical and commercial success of Knives Out (2019), whodunit murder mysteries, a particularly favorite genre of mine, have become popular again. With the equation of demand and supply working hard to match up to that level with varied results.

This latest from director Chris Nelson (The Perfect Date) too arranges the set up as expected by placing a handful of characters in a remote location, and the murder of one of them letting loose a scramble for secrets and accusations, forcing the commencement of the hunt for clues concerning the true assailant.

But while the film tries to stand out with a slack comedic approach to the mystery, unfortunately, the script from Jake Emanuel and Willie Block struggles with originality.

Mainly as the film’s concept bears a striking resemblance to widely praised season 1 of the Apple TV+ comedy thriller series “The Afterparty”, which also revolves around a high school reunion murder mystery and the death of its brash host. A similarity which diminishes the impact of the film’s plot twists and comedic elements.

Yes, some of the jokes and character dynamics work, but for the most part we can’t overcome the stale feeling that this is a lukewarm attempt at both being a comedy and murder mystery that offers little in the way of being fresh. To make matters worse, its execution stands as a prime example of missed potential and lazy direction. Instead of a tightly directed tale of suspicion, the feature is more improvisational in nature, forcing its talented cast to play with the weirdness and rising concerns of their unlikable characters.

Sure, considering the onslaught of uninspired murder mysteries we have been getting on all sorts of audio and video mediums, one could definitely do worse than this one, as there is nothing particularly terrible about the production, and remains at least watchable throughout. However, the forgettable nature of the script and enactment all but ensures it will be soon be forgotten.

The story follows best friends Ray Hammond (Lil Rel Howery) and local police officer Evan West (Billy Magnussen), who are heading to the twenty-year reunion of the Ridgeview High School class of 2001, hosted at the opulent home of Mathew Danbury (Chace Crawford), their former classmate who is now a successful hedge fund manager, despite an incoming snowstorm.

Evan and Ray are soon joined by Jasmine Park (Jamie Chung), a reporter; Amanda Tanner (Nina Dobrev), an ambitious politician; Mr. Theodore Buckley (Michael Hitchcock), their former teacher; Megan Cooper (Cassandra Blair), Ray’s high school ex-girlfriend; and Vivian Chase (Jillian Bell), who was labeled in high school as a future cat lady.

The party is a success, bringing together people who haven’t seen one another in years, while Evan receives a chance to get a little closer to Jasmine, his crush.

But after a night of heavy drinking, a small number of guests remain, and they’re confronted with Mathew’s dead body, who seems to be have been shot sometime during the early morning. Snowed in and lacking cell reception, the gang works to figure out what happened, realizing that the perpetrator is one of them.

Right from the beginning, the film recycles many of the tropes you might expect from the genre. It 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 and one is a weird creepy type.

The whole mess with murder doesn’t arrive until the feature’s second half. And once it kicks in, things don’t improve by much, as it simply goes through the motions of spotlighting potential suspects before wrapping it all up. Mainly since the writing is uninspired and formulaic, and the dialogue forced and unnatural, everything feels more like an exposition dump than a genuine conversation, making it difficult to invest in their plights.

Moreover, the film’s comedic moments are hit or miss, largely dependent on the actors’ ability to carry the improvisation. While there are some genuinely funny scenes, others fall flat, highlighting the need for a stronger script to support the improvisational style. Perhaps the most glaring flaw of the film is its cast of unlikable characters. Each one is a cliché.

These characters are so steeped in their stereotypes that they never transcend them, resulting in a group that is anything but endearing. Indeed, the revelation of the killer’s identity in a surprise, thanks to its clever design, but the reasoning behind everything turns out to be quite lackluster.

Performances wise, Lil Rel Howery brings his usual humor with a touch of desperation, while the ever charming Billy Magnussen surprisingly seems to be struggling with his poorly written role. Jillian Bell is her usual quirky and weird self, Jamie Chung is likable as always, Nina Dobrev is solid, Cassandra Blair is watchable, and Michael Hitchcock manages to be a scene stealer.

Chase Crawford, who has proved his comedy chops in the Prime Video satire superhero series “The Boys”, is left here with a mostly shallow character to embody. He does what he can to make the wealthy Matthew a slightly sleazy but still charismatic type. On the whole, ‘Reunion’ is a tedious whodunit marred by poor writing and unlikable characters.