Reunion (2024 film)
| Reunion | |
|---|---|
 Promotional poster | |
| Directed by | Chris Nelson |
| Written by | Jake Emanuel Willie Block |
| Produced by | Todd Garner Ben Silverman Peter Principato Mark Korshak Mickey Schiff Lil Rel Howery |
| Starring | Lil Rel Howery Billy Magnussen Jillian Bell Jamie Chung Michael Hitchcock Nina Dobrev Chace Crawford |
| Cinematography | Dino Parks |
| Edited by | Rick Grayson |
| Music by | Fil Eisler |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Republic Pictures Lionsgate |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 90 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Reunion is a 2024 American comedy mystery film directed by Chris Nelson and starring Lil Rel Howery, Billy Magnussen, Jillian Bell, Jamie Chung, Michael Hitchcock, Nina Dobrev, and Chace Crawford. The film is set during the aftermath of a twenty-year high school reunion, when an obnoxious popular student is murdered and his former classmates are left to figure out who among them is responsible.
Plot
[edit]The film takes place on the night of, and aftermath of, the twenty-year reunion of the Ridgeview High School class of 2001. The party is being hosted at the home of successful hedge fund manager Mathew Danbury, and the attendees include local police officer Evan West, his best friend Ray Hammond, journalist Jasmine Park, weirdo Vivian Chase, aspiring Congresswoman Amanda Tanner, former popular girl Meagan Cooper, and their former teacher, Mr. Theodore Buckley.
During the reunion, Evan and Jasmine start to form a romantic connection, while Ray keeps making advances on an unreceptive Meagan until the pair have a loud argument. Mathew claims to be happily married but flirts with many of the women at the party, including Meagan. Later, Mathew becomes the mascot of their high school football team and dances with everyone. Vivian interrupts the festivities to make a speech about how Mathew tormented her during high school. A severe snowstorm forces most of the attendees to leave the party early, but Evan, Ray, Jasmine, Vivian, Amanda, and Mr. Buckley are all too drunk to drive and elect to stay at Mathew's house.
In the morning, Jasmine discovers Mathew's dead body in his bedroom, shot once in the chest. The phone lines are down from the storm, preventing the group from phoning for help, and there's no evidence that anyone has left the house since the snowstorm ended. Jasmine and Amanda both discover late-night sexts from Mathew, from which Evan deduces that Mathew was killed after the snowstorm ended, suggesting that one of the people in the house is the killer. It quickly becomes apparent that everyone had a motive to kill Mathew dating back to their bad high school experiences.
Evan and Ray investigate the scene of the murder, noting the window that was open during the snowstorm and a bullet hole in the wardrobe door. Ray finds an earring in the wardrobe and chooses to hide it from Evan. Later, the group elects to search one another's pockets, and Evan discovers the earring, which Ray claims he found on the dance floor. In trios, they search the house for clues, and Amanda is discovered trying to hide a VHS tape from high school of her and Mathew poisoning another student. Amanda says that someone contacted her with knowledge of the tape and blackmailed her into shutting off the power at a certain time. The group makes plans to sleep in separate locked rooms for their own protection.
During the night, Jasmine sneaks into Mathew's office and accesses the records on his computer. While returning to her room, she is chased and knocked unconscious by someone wearing the high school mascot costume. The next morning, Jasmine tells the group that she came to the reunion to gain evidence of Mathew's hedge fund being engaged in illegal activities. The records contain evidence that Buckley had been defrauded of his life savings by Mathew. Vivian notices that one of their cars has an open trunk, and when Evan and Ray investigate, they find the dead body of Meagan. Footprints in the snow match Ray's boots, and the group remembers Ray and Meagan's argument during the party, leading them to conclude that Ray killed Meagan and Mathew out of jealousy.
The phone lines are restored, and Mathew's wife, Lisa, learns about her husband's death. She arrives with local police, and Ray is taken into custody, but Ray snatches a gun and forces everyone into the sitting room while he pieces together the crime. He concludes that Mathew was murdered by Lisa, who blackmailed Amanda into turning off the power to facilitate the crime, opened the bedroom window to confuse the forensic evidence, wore the mascot costume at the party so people wouldn't realize Mathew was already dead, and killed Meagan because she'd snuck into Mathew's bedroom and witnessed the crime. Furthermore, Ray reveals that Lisa's accomplice was Evan, her lover, who sent the sexts from Mathew's phone and disposed of Meagan's body in such a way that Ray would be implicated. The group finds Lisa and Evan's messages to each other on a mobile gaming app, proving their guilt and Ray's innocence.
As the police take Evan and Lisa into custody, Jasmine offers Ray a job as an investigator for her newspaper. Ray, Jasmine, Vivian, Amanda, and Buckley take an awkward photo together to commemorate the experience.
Cast
[edit]- 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
Production
[edit]In August 2021, it was announced that Howery, Magnussen, and Bell would be cast in the film, with filming set to occur in Los Angeles in the autumn.[1] Later that same month, it was announced that Dobrev, Chung, Hitchcock, and Crawford joined the cast, with production set to begin in Los Angeles the week the announcement was made.[2][3] On September 16, 2021, it was announced that Doan joined the cast and that filming took place in Los Angeles.[4] On September 23, 2021, it was announced that Blair had joined the cast.[5][4][6]
In November 2021, it was announced that filming had wrapped.[7]
Release
[edit]The film was first released in Brazil on Paramount+ on April 13, 2024, and was released digitally in the United States on June 28, 2024.[8][9]
Reception
[edit]On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 40% of 5 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.2/10.[10] The movie was described as sharing the premise and echoing the casting of The Afterparty. [11][12][13][14][15]
References
[edit]- ^ Lang, Brent (August 4, 2021). "Lil Rel Howery, Billy Magnussen and Jillian Bell to Star in Ensemble Comedy 'Reunion' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved April 23, 2022.
- ^ Lang, Brent (August 31, 2021). "Nina Dobrev, Jamie Chung, Michael Hitchcock and Chace Crawford Join Ensemble Comedy 'Reunion' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved May 30, 2022.
- ^ Pell, Roxana (September 1, 2021). "Vampire Diaries Star Nina Dobrev Cast In Murder Mystery Movie Reunion". Screen Rant. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
- ^ a b Lang, Brent (September 16, 2021). "Dianne Doan Joins Mystery Comedy 'Reunion' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
- ^ Grobar, Matt (September 23, 2021). "Peter Greene, Joseph D'Onofrio & Myles Clohessy To Star In Indie 'Cross'; Cassandra Blair Joins Lil Rel Howery Comedy 'Reunion'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 23, 2022.
- ^ Seddon, Dan (September 1, 2021). "The Boys and Vampire Diaries stars sign up for new comedy". Digital Spy. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
- ^ Falco Raez, Constanza (November 8, 2021). "NINA DOBREV: DRAGON SLAYING". Flaunt. Retrieved May 30, 2022.
Further breaking more rules and stereotypes, Dobrev describes her character in her latest wrapped movie, Reunion, as "very different than me. I have never played a character like this before, and it was both fun and very challenging."
- ^ Sharpe, Josh (May 14, 2024). "Video: Watch Trailer for REUNION Starring Billy Magnussen". BroadwayWorld. Retrieved May 14, 2024.
- ^ Gruenwedel, Erik (May 14, 2024). "Paramount Releasing Drama 'Reunion' on Digital Retail Platforms June 28". Media Play News. Retrieved May 14, 2024.
- ^ "Reunion". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved June 29, 2024.
- ^ "'Reunion' Review: A Tame Film About A Murderer Hiding Amongst Friends". Cinefied.com.
- ^ "Film Review: Reunion". Josh at the Movies. June 26, 2024.
- ^ Smith, Tessa (June 26, 2024). "Reunion Movie Review: A Hilarious Who Dunnit - Mama's Geeky".
- ^ "Movie Review: 'Reunion'". Moviefone.
- ^ "REVIEW: Reunion (2024 Film) Starring Billy Magnussen, Jillian Bell and Jamie Chung".