“An inexplicably popular movie starring Kevin Hart” a phrase I feel like I’m going to be using a lot this year.
What Works: Not much. This shitty buddy comedy is like every movie you’ve ever seen before and doesn’t try hard to be that different. The movie largely rests on Hart’s shoulders since he’s the only comedian on-screen, but his material feels like he made it up on his drive to the studio that morning, and his energetic delivery can’t save it. A little of that is good for about ten minutes, but you start feeling burnt out at the end of a nearly two hour movie.
What Doesn’t Work: The Laurence Fishburne cameo doesn’t go anywhere. Ice Cube plays every scene exactly the same way, and is unintentionally unlikable. Tika Sumpter is pretty but we’re never really sure why she’s with Hart other than her brother doesn’t like him (she looks about a foot taller than him). And the whole thing feels like if you’ve seen the trailer, there’s nothing left.
What I Would Have Done Differently: The best thing about this movie was the loud as hell woman sitting two rows behind me who cackled like a hyena throughout the whole thing and wouldn’t shut up repeating the dialogue and/or stupid observations (samples: “I thought Laurence Fishburn was dead!” “I been to Atlanta!” “Oh, his teeth fucked up good!”). At a certain point, I was listening more to her than the real dialogue, and I would like to find that woman and give her a movie.