Checked out the new Kevin Hart / Bryan Cranston drama/comedy The Upside over the weekend. This is a movie that’s getting heavily Twitter-bombed because Kevin Hart is in it and he hasn’t – or hasn’t enough – apologized for old jokes about gay people. Also because it’s about a rich white man and a poor black man. And because it has an alleged homophobic jokes about inserting catheters. And because it’s a remake of a French film that was criticized when it was new for the same reason but is now magically a better movie.
This movie was doomed before it even played… at least on social media. It had a pretty big opening for being a non-blockbuster and the theater I was in was nearly full on a Saturday morning.
The movie is based on a true story and based on the original French film so I have no idea which off-ramp of reality it took. But it’s about a wealthy white quadriplegic man who needs a full-time caregiver. Instead of hiring the overly-qualified and overly-sensitive candidates, he picks Kevin Hart’s character who was just there to get a signature showing he was looking for work to satisfy his parole officer. They, of course, don’t much like each other at first and have nothing in common but learn to respect each other and become friends in time.
All I know is that I found the movie mildly charming, mildly funny, and mildly moving. It’s not a great film on any front and if you have an ax to grind due to the external politics, then you probably won’t see the movie anyway.
One thing I admired about the flick is that Kevin Hart isn’t playing Kevin Hart. He isn’t being a clown or a man-child. His character has a chip on his shoulder and thinks the world is against him… he’s funny, but it’s a different level of funny. Not his usual shtick. So I saw him acting, not doing his stand-up, if you see what I mean.
So, yeah, it’s a fine, reasonably entertaining movie. I was engaged the whole way through whether it was the comedy or emotional drama. I don’t think its a world changer and it honestly probably won’t be remembered in a few months but it’s good while it was on screen.
Score: 82