REUNION -- Murder Mystery Comedy is Fine Fare

Review by Cole Groth

It's nice to see the murder mystery make a comeback in the last few years because there's nothing quite as satisfying as a good reveal of a killer and a crowd of ridiculous personalities with confusing baggage. Reunion doesn't come to the top of modern murder mysteries, but it's still a fun watch deserving of attention, especially for those who already love this genre.​

In this Chris Nelson-directed film, our cast is led by Lil Rel Howery and includes Billy Magnussen, Nina Dobrev, Jamie Chung, Jillian Bell, Chace Crawford, and Michael Hitchcock. The crew makes up a fairly funny group, each saddled with controversy. Most are funny, and all are awful people. That said, most of the cast doesn't stand out quite as much as you would hope. People like Howery and Bell are the same type of character you've seen them play for their last ten films, and the rest of the cast just isn't interesting enough to be noteworthy.
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Reunion has a tone problem. It often feels very cynical and annoying in how most of the characters are rude to each other. We've seen this trope play out — a bunch of assholes get together to collectively trash their experiences as teenagers and explain how much they hate each other. It seems like the film is desperate to achieve this sense of relatability that it never does. I'd like to see a high school reunion film where everybody's awkward but mostly friendly because that's how people actually interact. Although the murder mystery relies on character archetypes, everybody here feels like a mishmash of tired personalities with an overbearing sense of negativity about everything (although, given the circumstances, it's hard to blame everybody for being awful).

The mystery itself is pretty fun to watch unfold, and at a brisk 90-minute runtime, it doesn't feel like it drags very much. Without spoiling the killer, though, a few of the twists and turns and the eventual reveal of who did it will leave viewers disappointed. The film feels like it's leading up to a big conclusion, but instead, it takes a bizarre turn that undermines much of what it had going for it. The most critical part of these films is that the ending sticks the landing, and this one misses it.

Aesthetically, this is a miss. The cinematography is bland, the lighting flat, and the editing basic. Since this script isn't incredible, Chris Nelson should've focused on making it stand out visually because, without any eye-catching shots, the only way for this to leave an impression would've been to make it optically compelling. It's reminiscent of See How They Run ​in the opposite way, which was a fairly decent script elevated by a great crew behind it to make it look more interesting and much better as a result. On the other hand, this film loses any memorability due to an unappealing look.

Although this film has been done time and time again, Reunion is a somewhat comforting watch for fans of murder mysteries. It's easy to enjoy because the writing is simple, and there are a few laughs to be had. The cast is nice, the pacing is good, and overall, it's hard to really hate this. Although with a relatively strong cast, you might be left feeling that this was a film deserving of more than just fine. There's potential for something more interesting here, but the script and visuals don't unlock it fully. What's left is a just-decent installment into a very busy genre.
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Reunion releases on VOD starting June 28.

Rating: 2.5/5