Rating: PG-13

In this new column, our favorite flicks from the big screen are brought to the page, whether they’re blockbusters, indies, or anything in between. Grab some popcorn and a drink, and let’s dive into these films together.

I’m a big fan of comedy movies; I’ll almost always give any one a chance. I especially feel like comedies are perfect to watch on days when you want to get away from your daily routine, when you just need something silly and jovial to distract you. No matter how predictable the storyline might be, they’re always fun, and you’ll be guaranteed some laughs. After watching Murder Mystery, Netflix’s newest comedy film starring Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler, I decided to review it for August since it’s the time summer is winding down; this movie can serve as a little break as we gradually start to enter the new school year.

You can guess from the title Murder Mystery that the plot of the movie is similar to one of a murder mystery novel, so I’m not going to give away too much about the movie so that I don’t reveal the entire mystery. Aniston and Sandler play a married couple called the Spitzes who embark on a vacation to Europe that leads them into fiasco when a murder occurs on the yacht they’ve been invited onto. Having seen them together in a rom-com before, I enjoyed seeing their rapport on screen again, and I liked how realistic the Spitzes’ marriage was, mostly due to their constant bickering that made for plenty of good jabs and jokes. A majority of the time, it felt like watching your own parents leaving on a European vacation and, of course, getting themselves into some trouble.

The rest of the cast is comprised of a refreshing ensemble of actors and actresses that I’ve only seen in a handful of movies. The main characters include an actress, a viscount, a billionaire and his son, the billionaire’s new wife, a Formula 1 race car driver, a colonel and his bodyguard, and a maharajah. I felt like I stepped into a live version of the Clue game when all these characters were introduced, which certainly piqued my interest as I started to wonder who would commit the murder with what weapon and in which place. But before I could begin to form a hypothesis, there would be a turn of events that left me scratching my head about what had just happened. This movie builds up the suspense really well in a short amount of time by adding so many secondary storylines, and I’m already awful at solving mysteries in the first place, so my guesses were way off base. However, I didn’t mind because Murder Mystery kept me guessing – and shaving down my list of suspects – until the last few minutes and made me feel that not only was the mystery worth it, but the ending was well deserved, too.

So, whether you want to have your own little murder mystery dinner right at home or just have an excuse to play detective for a bit, I recommend watching Murder Mystery on Netflix. Here’s to hoping your skills are better than mine, and if they aren’t, at least you get Adam Sandler’s jokes!