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A lot of criticisms have been levelled against 2015’s Get Hard, with most critics and audiences calling it offensive and dumb. However, despite its clichéd, slipshod plotting and a lack of truly witty writing, it is arguably entertaining if you enjoy this type of crass, un-PC humour, though it must be stressed that it’s not a movie for everybody. This is a pitch-black, vehemently R-rated comedy, with improvisation, overacting and profanities aplenty in place of clever comedy. And while the resultant feature has its moments, it is rather disappointing considering the talent here.
An LA-based investment fund manager, James King (Will Ferrell) is living the dream, blessed with a gorgeous fiancée, Alissa (Allison Brie), and a large, luxurious home that’s tended to by groundskeepers and maids. Soon after being made partner in his firm by Alissa’s father, Martin (Craig T. Nelson), James is arrested for fraud and sentenced to ten years in San Quentin. Trying to maintain his innocence, James is given thirty days to sort out his affairs before serving time. James dreads the prospect of prison life, ultimately calling upon a car washer named Darnell (Kevin Hart) for help. Even though the squeaky-clean Darnell has never been in the slammer, James assumes that he has a cell block record simply because he’s black. Realising that he has the chance to make some easy cash, Darnell goes along with it, pretending to be an ex-con and creating a prison survival boot camp to toughen James up.
Like most comedies of this ilk, Get Hard is essentially a string of comedic vignettes with a very tenuous through-line to justify the madness. It’s somewhat surprising that Etan Cohen directed the picture since he also scripted Tropic Thunder and Idiocracy, both of which possessed some degree of intelligence, providing clever satire to supplement and enhance the laughs. Get Hard, on the other hand, is purely superficial, and you’ll struggle to find any meaty satire or satirical subtext amid all the rape jokes and crude dialogue. Perhaps the movie’s biggest issue is the lack of a character arc for James, who’s a stuffy, racist rich guy - and the movie asks us to empathise with him. Additionally, the story’s machinations are so perfunctory and half-hearted, not to mention predictable, that the premise might have been better-served as a series of short comedy skits on YouTube.
With its shoddy script and plotting, Get Hard would have been borderline unwatchable if it was an inoffensive PG-13 comedy. However, the production is given a boost by its R rating, which Ferrell lobbied relentlessly to maintain, allowing for salty language and humour that pushes the boundaries of good taste. Performances all-round are fairly workmanlike, with Ferrell again leaning on his trademark oblivious man-child idiot persona. Ferrell knows his strengths, and he plays to him, with the role never removing the actor from his comfort zone. Then again, nobody really expected anything more. Hart, meanwhile, is pretty much just Kevin Hart.
There is not much more that can be said about Get Hard. Humour is subjective, and if there’s not much to analyse beneath a comedy’s shiny exterior, it doesn’t exactly provide strong fodder for an in-depth treatise. As someone who predominantly likes Will Ferrell and enjoys R-rated comedies, I found myself laughing quite a lot throughout the movie’s 100-minute duration in spite of its inherent flaws and hit-and-miss comedy. Those who enjoy the likes of Step Brothers might enjoy it with beer and pizza, but others are advised to tread lightly.
6.1/10
