Saturday, March 28, 2015

MOVIE REVIEW...GET HARD....NOT SURE


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Movie Review: 'Get Hard' ... Not Sure

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Not sure about this one. Kevin Hart is terrific. Will Ferrell starts broad while setting up plot, but his performance is forced. Whereas Hart, who plays it straight, is a delight. Once the plot is in full swing Ferrell's comedic wings take off. Nevertheless it is Hart who -- when he segues into doing characters -- is like lightening. But where was the director? In a magnificent scene in which Hart plays three characters while Ferrell stands dumbfounded, director Etan Cohen was needed by these great talents, but this scene goes on too long which kills the humor. Director Cohen (Men in Black 3) is responsible for the missteps in this clever comedy. The timing is off in several scenes and Get Hard goes on too long.
The plot is unique. Ferrell, James King, is a millionaire airhead who is found to have committed fraud in his investment firm. Hart (Darnell) has washed his cars regularly. King is sentence to San Quentin. Darnell convinces King that within moments of entering prison King will be initiated into being someone's bitch. King believes Darnell who lies that he has been in jail which gives him license to give lessons to King in how not to be sexually assaulted in jail. Craig T. Nelson plays Martin, the head of the investment firm, which employs King. Nelson does so with flair and perfect timing. Jay Martel, Ian Roberts, Adam Mc Kay, and Etan Cohen wrote this story and screenplay in which King is sentenced to San Quentin. Darnell demands $30,000 from King for Darnell to teach him how to protect him from being assaulted and raped by inmates. These lessons include graphic set-ups in which King fakes oral sex with a man in a urinal. These overt attempts at humor fail, but the smooth interaction between members of the hood and King are hilarious and show Ferrell's skills to the max. The leader of the hood, Russell, who is played by T.I., is magnificent. His acting is so real, so natural, that all the shtick going on around him works. T.I. is magic.
As to whether or not King goes to San Quentin, you will have to discover by seeing this film. It is worth a gander, but do not go out of your way to see a cameo by John Mayer and an uneven performance by the beloved Will Ferrell. Ferrell's performance is uneven only due to the poor direction and the ho-hum writing in the screenplay though it is based on a clever story. Kevin Hart steals this one. Your price of admission will be justified just to see Hart.
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