The Argument Review: A Hilarious Cocktail Party You Will Happily Revisit

Release date: September 4, 2020
Running time: 81 minutes
Starring: Dan Fogler, Emma Bell, Maggie Q, Danny Pudi, Tyler James Williams, Cleopatra Coleman

A couple Jack (Fogler) and Lisa (Bell) get into an argument at their cocktail party that escalates until it brings an abrupt end to the festivities.  Wanting to retry the night and ultimately determine who was on the right side of their disagreement, the couple reinvite their guests over for a redo.  At this second meeting, they and their guests decide to re-create the entire night again and again to determine who was right.  And as the re-enactments happen, the encounter gets more ridiculous and hilarious as tensions fray, drinks are consumed, and secrets are revealed.

First off, I absolutely loved the premise of this movie.  The idea of recreating the dinner party with variations in it was a lot of fun to watch.  It is essentially a very fresh, entertaining take on the Groundhog Day formula, except that everyone knows what is going on.  It leads to some pretty hilarious situations as everyone grows tired of the repeated encounter and tries to spice it up.  

And in this wonderful formula, the film adds six fantastic characters to play off each other.  Each of the six dinner guests have very different personalities, motivations, and mannerisms, and the way that these interplay, fray, and mix really is the heart and soul of this film.  The characters that they have created, and the actors that they get to portray them really go all out in this movie.  I loved Dan Fogler's tortured artist, Emma Bell's driven acting, Maggie Q's intense, serious lawyer, Danny Pudi's failing but supportive agent, Tyler James Williams driven but dense actor / model, and Cleopatra Coleman's wildcard (and side note, it was great seeing Cleopatra Coleman, who we saw earlier this year in James vs. His Future Self).  Their interactions, overreactions, ridiculous mannerisms, and growing discontent with the situation they are placed in lead to a lot of craziness, uncomfortable situations, and laugh out loud moments. 

And the story of The Argument adds more and more fuel to this hilarious fire.  As you would expect from a Groundhog Day style movie, each successive attempt at the dinner party adds more to the already fun setup.  And by the end, the film evolves into such an amazing situation, that I was laughing the whole time.  It escalates and escalates into insanity, but a controlled insanity that is all in service to the overall enjoyment in the movie.  Seriously, this very well might have been the funniest movie I have seen this year.  And despite all these personalities, increasingly ridiculous situations, and repeating dinner party motif, The Argument also manages to conclude it all with a wholely fulfilling and enjoyable ending; one that ties together all the ridiculousness of the film in a satisfying package. 

The Argument's wonderful cast of characters, escalating and entertaining situations, and laugh out loud moments make this a dinner party you will want to attend over and over.

Watch it.

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