Get Hard

Comedians have brought us entertainment for decades, starting of in the early 1920´s with Charlie Chaplin. There are so many talents to be mentioned, but one of my personal favourites is definetely Mel Brooks. This man really did some crazy films during the 60´s and 70´s. I would imagine most of you have seen his films The Producers,  Silent Movie, To Be Or Not To Be and of course Blazing Saddles. He had a way to make comedies crazy, and proved that if you make situations completely insane, it will turn into satire comedy for all ages. One of the comedian legends, Richard Pryor, also proved himself to be really good at making films. Especially with Gene Wilder, who can forget their classic films Silver Streak and See No Evil, Hear No Evil ? In the 80´s there was one man who did change the comedy genre with his special apperance, you all know him as Chevy Chase. National Lampoon´s Vacation is a classic film, about holiday travelling, where everything goes wrong. But it was in Fletch, you could really tell that Chevy Chase was great at doing many characters in the same film. It is actually 30 years ago this year, since the first Fletch film came out. If you have not seen it, buy it, it is one of those classics you can watch over and over again. Since a lot of comedians came out from Saturday Night Live, i was not surpised to see Will Ferell turn into a comedy movie star in the late 90´s. he was the modern Chevy Chase, with even more crazy characters to offer. As he became a bigger star, Will got to do more feature films, and some really good ones also. I would imagine most of you have seen his 2004 classic Anchorman: The Legend Of Ron Burgundy. This is a film that you can never get tired of, it is crazy, vulgar and so funny at certain moments, you will never forget Ron Burgundy. One of my favourite characters with Will Ferell, is a smaller role in the 2009 comedy, The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard, where he plays a really strange man called Craig McDermott. He is only in a few scenes, but those moments he really shines with his presence. Oh wait, i have to mention his political comedy The Campaign, a funny comedy about politics, and american patriots. Will Ferell continue to give us many wonderful characters, and keep releasing films. I decided to take a look at one of his quite new films, called Get Hard. Is this Another funny release from this comedian legend, or is he running out of ideas ?

James King (Will Ferrell) loves his life, he is one very wealthy hedge fund manager, who have a beautiful gold-digging fiancee Alissa (Alison Brie), who wants more luxary, and a bigger house. James listen to her, and knows he have to make her pleased. James personal car washer Darnell Lewis (Kevin Hart ) tries to please James with his job, making sure his car is shining bright. James try to tell Darnell, how he also could find a successfull life, if you work really hard for it. Alissa arrange a party for her and James, inviting all of their closest friends, and family members, to celebrate the success of James King´s life. But the party is about to end, when FBI rush inside the party, and arrest James, suspected of fraud and embezzlement. At court, the judge sentence James King guilty of these crimes, and give him 10 years in prison. He have 30 days to prepare himself for prison. The luxary life is slipping away, all of James friends are not talking to him anymore. James accidently meet Darnell, while he is lying in the trunk of his car. James tell Darnell that he only have about 30 days to prepare himself, as Darnell comes up with an idea. If James get the money, Darnell will teach James how to survive in prison. James is very pleased with this idea, but the question is, can he survive the prison world ?

Finally, i get to laugh at stupid vulgar humour, still done in a good way. We already know Will Ferell is a great comedian, especially in Anchorman: The Legend Of Ron Burgundy, and the sequel that was not too bad. There is something about seeing him making a fool of himself, almost as if he will always be like a spoiled child, saying what kids would say in different situations. If you are looking for an intelligent comedy, Get Hard is definetely not what you want to see. If you just want to laugh, this film gets the job done. It is predictable, and not original, but what works so well is Will Ferell and Kevin Hart combined. These guys knows how to deliver comedy, and there are some really crazy scenes. We have seen this kind of story Before, maybe not in the same way, but you recognize the influences from 80´s and 90´s comedies. Director Etan Cohen ( not one of the Coen Brothers ), have worked as a writer in many films, such as Tropic Thunder and Men In Black 3. Get Hard is his first directorial debut as an director, and i have to say he manage to give us entertainment. Sure, there is a lot of bad language, vulgar sex jokes, but it all lands with a combination made to please you, on a blu ray night with your buddies. If there is one thing i would have wanted more of, is to hear Will Ferell do something even more crazy, like he did in Step Brothers. He does give a good performance in Get Hard, but he would have been even better if he did something really unexpected. Kevin Hart is just what you would expect him to be, the guy who wants to look cool, and is being beaten by his woman. Get Hard is definetely more fun than Ride Along, the action comedy with Kevin Hart and Ice Cube last year. One of the reasons why Get Hard works much better is the dialogue between Kevin and Will. Rich man vs ordinary day worker. Since they live 2 very different lives, they really don´t get along when James ( Wills character ) is about to go to prison, and need to learn how to survive. Not very original, or surprising, but as a comedy you will get to laugh with Get Hard ( that is if you are in the right mood ). I actually hope they do make a sequel, since i feel that this duo work great together on screen, but with a good script of course. Until then, watch Get Hard for a good time , reminding us of classic comedy films of the 90´s.

Rating: DDD