Pairing Kevin Hart with Will Ferrell is not a foreseeable move but it is worthwhile. Warner Bros. took a tall and short order of foolishness and genius wrapped it not-so-tight, put them in a typical Hollywood set-up and produced the comedy Get Hard.
Millionaire James King (Ferrell) gets sentenced to prison in San Quentin, one of the harshest prisons. In order to prepare for survival, James seeks the guidance of his car detailer, Darnell Lewis (Hart), who he assumes has been to prison before because of his skin color and economic status.
Etan Cohen (Tropic Thunder , Men in Black 3) directed and co-wrote Get Hard alongside Adam McKay (SNL, Anchorman series), Jay Martel (Key and Peele, KaBlam!) and Ian Roberts (Key and Peele). If you have seen any of their movies, then you know what kind of humor you’re in for. And WIll Ferrell fits right in line with the expectations of how ridiculously stupid and yet adorable he makes his main characters.
Kevin Hart takes a back seat with Darnell and played more of a supportive role to Will Ferrell’s character, which is interesting considering his hilarious scene snatching abilities in the Think Like A Man series, About Last Night and Ride Along. It is surprising to see Kevin turn down Kevin and be, basically, a comedy sidekick to Ferrell. Darnell’s wife Rita, played by Edwina Findley Dickerson, held more of her own in scenes with Kevin and Will.
Get Hard also featured Alison Brie (Community) who played King’s fiancé, Alissa. She was a supportive character that aided King’s clueless lifestyle. Rapper and actor T.I. played Darnell’s cousin, Russell – “young Ronald Reagan,” who actually went to prison and is the leader of a local gang. He did a good job with his scenes and brought a real hardness to the movie offering a nice comparison of Darnell’s bootcamp vs. Russell’s reality.
The only down part is that it plays into stereotypes in such a Hollywood-esque way that is retro and typical. Rich white people, lower middle class black people living in the hood and Latinos as landscapers and maids. Don’t be surprised if you recall Bringing Down The House (2003) with Steve Martin and Queen Latifah as you balance laughter, empathy and shock factor while watching.
You should see Get Hard and get a nice laugh. It wasn’t worth my dollar, but if you enjoy anything Will Ferrell does, then you’ll enjoy this movie.
Rating: 6.5 out of 10
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Asia Martin is a staff writer for Pop-Break covering TV shows and movies that make her laugh or cringe. She spends most of her daytime hours assisting Hurricane Sandy relief at The Children’s Home Society of NJ, yes people are still in need. In her spare time, she runs her own social media management business, Rising Dynamics, LLC and freelance writes. Asia is a graduate of Rutgers University with a major in Journalism and Media Studies. She loves superhero cartoons, films and Comic Con but continuously skips out on comic books #sorrybutnotsorry Follow Asia on Twitter: @ColoredIn
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