Get Hard (FILM REVIEW)
Get Hard
Film Review
by Kam Williams
Will Ferrell and Kevin Hart Co-Star in Unlikely-Buddies Comedy
Thanks to a flourishing career as a
hedge fund manager, James King (Will Ferrell) is living in the lap of luxury in
a sprawling, Bel Air mansion. Furthermore, the pampered multimillionaire’s
stock seems about to skyrocket, given his promotion to partner and his
impending marriage to the boss’ (Craig T. Nelson) daughter, Alissa (Alison
Brie).
By contrast, working man Darnell
Lewis (Kevin Hart) is stuck on the other side of the proverbial tracks in South
Central L.A.
where he has to worry on a daily basis about the welfare of his wife (Edwina
Findley) and young daughter (Ariana Neal). He’s eager to move them out of the
‘hood, but first needs to save $30,000 to secure the mortgage on their dream
house.
As a regular patron of a valet car washing service, James has
regularly crossed-paths with Darnell. Nevertheless, he mistakes him for a
mugger the day he’s surprised to see a black man approach him in the office
parking lot.
To add insult to injury, instead of apologizing for the hurtful
faux pas, tone deaf James insensitively claims ”I would’ve reacted the same, if
you were white.” Then, he rubs salt in cash-strapped Darnell’s wounds by
suggesting that, “I got to where I am by hard work,” before smugly adding,
“Success is a mindset.”
However, the two’s roles are reversed when James is convicted of
securities fraud, and sentenced to ten years in San Quentin. With just a month
before he has to report to prison, he asks Darnell to prepare him for life
behind bars, based on another unfounded assumption, namely, that he’s an
ex-con.
Darnell agrees, charging precisely the $30,000 he needs as a down
payment on his ticket out of the ghetto. However, the jokes are all on James,
since the supposed “incarceration expert” he’s just hired has never even seen
the inside of a jail.
Thus unfolds Get Hard, an unlikely-buddies comedy co-starring
Kevin Hart and Will Ferrell. The movie marks the noteworthy directorial debut
of Etan Cohen, whose successful mix of over-the-top slapstick and subtle social
satire yields a cinematic experience as silly as it is thought-provoking.
So, one moment, we might witness goofy, gratuitous nudity courtesy
of exhibitionistic Ferrell who has never been shy about prancing around in his
birthday suit, his Rubenesque physique notwithstanding. The next, we’re treated
to relatively-sophisticated humor such as the musings of a spoiled rich kid
boasting about how he built his company with his own two hands, before also
admitting that he had actually relied upon an $8,000,000 loan from his father
as seed money.
Provided you’re open to politically-incorrect fare ranging from
racist to misogynistic to homophobic, you’re likely to enjoy this inspired
pairing of the relentlessly absurd Ferrell and the motor-mouthed Hart at the
top of their games.
Very Good
(3 stars)
Rated R
for full-frontal male nudity, drug use, ethnic slurs, and pervasive profanity,
sexuality and crude humor
Running time: 100 minutes
Distributor: Warner
Brothers Pictures
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