Get Hard
Starring Will Ferrell, Kevin Hart
Directed by Etan Cohen
On paper, the combining of comedic forces Will Ferrell and Kevin Hart seems like a recipe for maximum hilarity. Unfortunately, Get Hard winds up being an awkward experience, devoid and any solid laughs.
Wealthy investment banker James King (Ferrell) is framed, captured by the FBI and sentenced to hard time in prison at the infamous San Quentin. King enlists the help of Darnell (Hart) who, being black, must have seen his share of prison time and will prepare him for life in the big house. It’s just one of the racially-charged jokes that turns Get Hard into an increasingly ugly comedy.
Other tiresome gags offer a barrage of misogynistic and vile homophobic material that does nothing to improve diversity or inclusion on any level. Sure, this is meant to be a raunchy comedy but some wit would be appreciated instead of a veritable tidal wave of adolescent jokes about how bad prison sex can be.
Hart, playing a domesticated family man pretending to be a thug, is forced to play the straight man and the results are often disappointing as the normally manic performer becomes a boring, button-down version of his effervescent self. Ferrell, to his credit, is genuinely funny in sections but never enough to carry the movie.
The film’s thin premise works as a sketch but not a feature film. Even the chemistry between the two powerhouses is notably absent as they try unsuccessfully to keep the plot moving.
In short, Get Hard just plain sucks hard.
