Kevin Hart: What Now?
Review by Paul Preston
Welcome to Today I Watched…, a series of posts documenting my new challenge – watch a movie a day for the rest of my life. Keep coming back to TheMovieGuys.net to find out what I watch each day…and get my take on it.
When I see a movie that’s a new release in theaters or for home viewing, I’ll give it a proper review in the “Reviews”, otherwise, I’ll write about it here.
March 5, 2017 – Kevin Hart: What Now?
If a joke doesn’t hit in Kevin Hart’s latest stand-up comedy concert film, it’s not because Hart hasn’t sold it. He works hard the whole show. You never get the feeling that “this is my filler”, even when it might be.
What Now? captures Hart’s sold-out show at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia (pretty impressive). The filmmakers use a multimedia element to the show that I haven’t seen live or in a concert film. When Hart is telling stories (as is the make-up of most of his material), the background projection screens reflect what he’s saying. When he talks about being eaten by a shark, for example, the backdrop becomes the bow of a ship and the open water, with a shark fin circling. When he relates his feelings about being alone outside of his house at night with who-knows-what kinds of animals out there, he’s suddenly surrounded by peering sets of eyeballs. His story would often employ accompanying sound effects, too! It was unusual to experience that at first, but I quickly warmed to the idea, as it was used sparingly (therefore, more effectively).
Even if you’re luke warm on Hart’s shark story, stuck-outside-of-his-house story, a story about Hart’s dad and his wheelchair-bound girlfriend and a raccoon, they all expertly come together for some big laughs. Even if I didn’t laugh all the time, I enjoyed the hell out of looking at the other side of the couch and watching my wife laugh her ass off.
There is a mini-movie before the concert that supposedly details the moments leading up to the show, which include a James Bond-inspired opening credits (clever) and a poker game full of celebrity cameos (not so clever). It’s not just that this pre-show is lacking in charm and laughs (much of it is overdone), it’s that NO PRE-TAPED BIT IN FRONT OF A STAND-UP CONCERT MOVIE HAS EVER BEEN GREAT.
Directed by: Leslie Small & Tim Story
Release Date: October 14, 2016
Run Time: 96 Minutes
Country: USA
Rated: R
Distributor: Universal Pictures
