Writer: Jay Martel, Ian Roberts, Etan Cohen (Screenplay) Adam McKay, Jay Martel, Ian Roberts (Story)
Starring: Will Ferrell, Kevin Hart, Craig T Nelson, Alison Brie, Edwina Findley Dickerson, Ariana Neal
Plot: When millionaire James King is jailed for fraud and bound for San Quentin, he turns to Darnell Lewis to prep him to go behind bars.
There may be spoilers the rest of the review
Verdict: Good Odd Couple Comedy
Story: Get Hard starts as we meet the rich James King (Ferrell) and his demanded fiancée Alissa (Brie) and struggling to make ends meet Darnell (Hart) who works a professional job running his own business where he wants to make enough money give his family a good life with house and his daughter having a good education. We see the complete clash between James who has been handed everything in his life and Darnell who has worked every day just to get enough money.
Once James gets arrested and sentenced to 10 years in a maximum security prison his life starts to fall apart he turns to Darnell to teach him how he will survive in prison for the $30,000 needed to purchase the house. The problem comes as Darnell is a good man with no knowledge of surviving in prison.
Get Hard is a comedy that really works in the odd ball comedy as we see a rich man having to learn how to make it in prison rather than spending his time clearing his name. this is something I didn’t understand, because he knows he is innocent but doesn’t even bother to find a way to prove it. Knowing this we do wonder why we only focus on the training when we know other things are going on. For a comedy the story is fine but otherwise this feels slightly flat.
Actor Review
Will Ferrell: James King is an investment banker who gets framed for fraud, he is sent to prison for 10 years but has 30 days to put everything together. He hired his car cleaner Darnell to teach him how to survive prison. James is your typical rich man who doesn’t understand who he steps on getting to the top. Will uses his comedy skills to make this work.
Kevin Hart: Darnell is a hard working manager at a car cleaning business, he works every day to make ends meet for his family as he struggles to move his family to a better neighbourhood. When James King turns to him to train him about prison he has to pretend his has been in prison to get the money that will pay for his family’s future. Kevin continues to help his comedy reputation in films giving a good performance in this role.
Craig T Nelson: Martin is the soon to be father-in-law to James who also happens to be his boss at the company. His offers to help find out the truth about who caused the fraud. Craig is solid in this role but we don’t see him enough.
Alison Brie: Alissa is the fiancée of James who dumps his pretty quickly after he gets arrested and we barely see her again in the film. Alison really doesn’t get the screen time need in the role.
Support Cast: Get Hard has a supporting cast that all work with the final story helping the moments get extra comedy throughout.
Director Review: Etan Cohen – Etan gives us a good comedy even if the story comes off strange when you think about it.
Comedy: Get Hard has good comedy moments throughout even if there are a lot of racial jokes.
Crime: Get Hard has had a fraud crime going on but that is the only crime side to the story.
Chemistry: Get Hard gives Ferrell and Hart a chance to show their chemistry really well.
Settings: Get Hard uses the settings to show the different classes between the two characters.
Suggestion: Get Hard is one for the comedy fans to try out if you love Ferrell and Hart this is for you. (Try It)
Best Part: Ferrell and Hart work really well together.
Worst Part: Not enough of the actual crime committed.
Believability: No
Chances of Tears: No
Chances of Sequel: No
Post Credits Scene: No
Oscar Chances: No
Box Office: $90 Million
Budget: $40 Million
Runtime: 1 Hour 40 Minutes
Tagline: Sometimes you need a hand to get hard.
Trivia: This movie is filmed in New Orleans at a golf course, a mansion in Metairie, a prison, and the Ninth Ward.
Overall: Solid comedy that shows a new comedy partnership to take seriously.
Rating