The Game (film)



""I don't care about the money. I'm pulling back the curtain. I want to meet the wizard.""

The Game is a movie centered around Nicholas van Orton (Michael Douglas), a bored, disillusioned businessman who spends his days in his office (complete with shower). His life is extremely well-ordered -- he has even driven out all romantic prospects (including one marriage) -- until the day his brother Conrad (Sean Penn) gives him a gift certificate for a group called Consumer Recreation Services that livens up their customers' lives by playing a potentially-dangerous game with them.

Nicholas, intrigued by this, signs up for one of the company's games -- and soon finds himself threatened to the point of death by a group that possibly has some ulterior motives regarding his money...

This movie contains examples of:

 * Book Safe: Douglas's character keeps a revolver hidden in a copy of To Kill a Mockingbird.
 * Chekhov's Army: A major theme in the film, revealed in
 * Driven to Suicide: Possibly Nicholas's father.
 * Foreshadowing: After despairing to Nicholas, sobbing and crying,
 * I'm Not a Doctor But I Play One On TV: Which is Hilarious in Hindsight, since
 * Massive Multiplayer Scam: Douglas spends most of the movie trying to figure out if it's a scam.
 * Mind Screw
 * Not My Driver: Douglas steps into a cab that's subsequently driven into water.
 * Pleasure Island:
 * Scary Surprise Party:
 * Shockingly Expensive Bill
 * Shout-Out: The page quote is one to The Wizard of Oz (when Dorothy finds out that the god-like ruler of Emerald City is a mere human behind a curtain).
 * Skirts and Ladders
 * Soft Glass: It's breakable, but can still cut.
 * The Picture Came With the Frame: Suspecting that
 * The Un-Reveal: It's never revealed how much the game cost.
 * Vapor Wear: When Trapped In An Elevator with waitress Christine, Nicholas asks her to crawl out the roof hatch. An embarrassed Christine reveals she's reluctant to do this because she's not wearing any underwear. With her short skirt. Given what happens later, this is likely deliberate so as to mess with the protagonist's head.
 * Xanatos Roulette: Consumer Recreation Services' business model. They must hire exceptionally good actors / roleplayers / grifters.
 * Xanatos Speed Chess: There is no way in hell that CRS could account for every single contingency, so it's quite possible they simply improvised for the ones they couldn't handle.
 * The Un-Reveal: It's never revealed how much the game cost.
 * Vapor Wear: When Trapped In An Elevator with waitress Christine, Nicholas asks her to crawl out the roof hatch. An embarrassed Christine reveals she's reluctant to do this because she's not wearing any underwear. With her short skirt. Given what happens later, this is likely deliberate so as to mess with the protagonist's head.
 * Xanatos Roulette: Consumer Recreation Services' business model. They must hire exceptionally good actors / roleplayers / grifters.
 * Xanatos Speed Chess: There is no way in hell that CRS could account for every single contingency, so it's quite possible they simply improvised for the ones they couldn't handle.
 * Xanatos Speed Chess: There is no way in hell that CRS could account for every single contingency, so it's quite possible they simply improvised for the ones they couldn't handle.