Buddy Games

Buddy Games is a comedy about a group of longtime friends who have drifted apart. Years after a falling-out, Bob, known to his circle as the Bobfather, brings the old gang back together for a reunion built around the Buddy Games, a competition of silly physical and mental challenges. A cash prize of 150,000 dollars is on the line, and the friends throw themselves into the contest with little regard for dignity. The film is set in the United States and draws its humor from the group's rivalries and the awkwardness of men reconnecting after a long estrangement.

The film marks Josh Duhamel's first time in the director's chair; he also stars as Bob and wrote the screenplay with Jude Weng and Bob Schwartz, and produced it with Michael J. Luisi and Jude Weng. The cast includes Dan Bakkedahl, Nick Swardson, Dax Shepard, James Roday Rodriguez and Kevin Dillon. Duhamel went on to direct two further features after this one: Buddy Games: Spring Awakening and Preschool.

Released in 2019, the film runs 97 minutes. On IMDb it holds a rating of 4.8 from roughly 9,300 votes, while on TMDB it sits at 5.2 from about 250 votes. A critics' score of 3.7 from 25 reviews places it below the audience scores.