Thursday, January 12, 2012

Kevin Hart: Laugh at My Pain (DVD REVIEW)



Kevin Hart: Laugh at My Pain
DVD Review by Kam Williams

Headline: Anguished Comedian’s Concert Flick Comes to DVD

Kevin Hart has enjoyed a tremendous surge in popularity lately after having basically divided his time over the last decade between acting and making the rounds on the comedy club circuit. He’s played the second banana in dozens of films such as Not Easily Broken, Soul Plane, and Scary Movie 3 and 4 before landing a role as a leading man in 2011 in 35 and Ticking.
Last year, the 5’4” funnyman also embarked on a 90-city standup tour entitled “Laugh at My Pain” where he brought his unique brand of observational humor to venues all across the country. This concert flick of the same name ostensibly features his act at its best, as it was recorded on the last stop of the traveling show at the Nokia Theatre in L.A.
While undeniably hilarious in spots, the uninitiated ought to be forewarned that Hart’s delivery is peppered with plenty of curses and ethnic slurs. For example, in one bit about the children’s game “Duck, Duck, Goose,” he replaces “goose” with the N-word.
As for the subject-matter, most of the jokes are of the self-deprecating variety in which the diminutive brother complains about having to deal with his size and with being abused by various members of his dysfunctional family, especially his father. Via personal reflections, we learn that Kevin was left traumatized by his drug-addicted dad who never wore underwear (“You’re gonna learn what a long d*ck looks like today.”) and who threw him into 7 feet of water before he had learned how to swim.
Too bad the material is often unnecessarily raunchy, since Hart is colorful and naturally funny enough to make you laugh without needing to rely on so many salty adjectives. Better brace yourself to chuckle as much at Kevin’s profane language as at his pain!

Good (2 stars)
Rated R for sexual humor, ethnic slurs and pervasive profanity.
Running time: 89 minutes
Distributor: CodeBlack Entertainment
DVD Extras: Kevin Hart’s unedited interview with Larry King on Larry King Live; The Plastic Cup Boyz sketch; and a sneak peek of the upcoming film Think Like A Man, with an introduction by Kevin Hart.

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