Should you watch this at weekend movie ticket prices? If you’re looking for light entertainment.
Should you watch this at weekday movie ticket prices? Sure.
Secret ending? No.
Running time: 100 minutes (~1.75 hours)
“Get Hard” is a comedy that involves a rich, sheltered executive who gets accused of fraud. With only a month before his incarceration, he enlists the help of his car washer to learn how to survive in prison. It stars Will Ferrell (James King), Kevin Hart (Darnell Lewis), Alison Brie (Alissa), and Craig T. Nelson (Martin Barrow). It is rated M-18.
From its title alone, you can surmise that “Get Hard” will be filled with off colour humour, and it’s M-18 rating confirms that. And you’d be right – “Get Hard” isn’t going to be a philosophical treatise on the prison system. But rather than repeatedly forcing lewd sight gags and tawdry jokes, it actually mixes things up and provides enjoyable, adult-level entertainment. It’s surprisingly fun to watch, and it’s 100 minute running time feels just right.
Highlights
Genuinely interesting premise
It’s a rather ludicrous set up to build an entire movie upon – rich guy finds ex-con to teach him how to survive in jail. Yet it’s an interesting premise, and both Will Ferrell and Kevin Hart play characters that could believably execute such a harebrained scheme. It sets the tone for the rest of the movie, because with such a larger than life set up, almost anything is possible and plausible.
Kevin Hart is an entertaining Darnell
Darnell’s constant exasperation and disbelief with James are what makes him fun to watch, with the added irony that Darnell is just as ridiculous as James himself. It’s his facial reactions that tickles us so much, and his responses are what drives the show in its insane direction.
A buddy movie at heart
At its core, “Get Hard” is like a road trip movie. It’s about the unlikeliest of people forming a bond and becoming fast friends, despite the circumstances of their friendship. It might not be one of the core themes of the movie, or even of significant focus to the production team, but grounding the movie in their friendship gives it the emotional centre that makes us empathise with the characters.
Letdowns
Darnell is always angry and shouting
It might be funny the first two or three times, but by Act Two, Darnell’s constant grumbling becomes tiring. It doesn’t help that he has a high-pitched voice that makes it even more grating. His exasperation might be hilarious, but not when it inevitably escalates into some sort of nasal rant.
Lopsided story structure
The premise of the movie might be apparent, but their end goal keeps changing throughout the film. James and Darnell can’t quite seem to agree on what they’re targeting, and this lack of structure creates a very unfocused film. Scenes might be well done, but they could have been connected with better set up and planning.
“Get Hard” might not be an insightful comedy, but it still manages to serve its purpose – to entertain without being annoying, to be adult without being unsavoury, and to be fresh without being alienating. With that in mind, grab your ticket and let yourself be entertained by the antics of Will Ferrell and Kevin Hart!
“Get Hard” opens in cinemas 26 March, 2015 (Thursday).
This review was also published on Yahoo Singapore.
It is a very interesting and very funny movie.