Photo by Patti Perret.
Pairing a rich white goofball with a working-class black family man isn’t the most original comedic idea. But it’s not a bad way to make your directorial debut, especially if the millionaire is Will Ferrell and the guy washing his car is Kevin Hart. Director Etan Cohen, best known for his writing work on Beavis and Butt-head and King of the Hill, brings a similar style of offensive (yet somewhat smart) humor to the Trading Places-esque Get Hard.
Despite his genius-like skills in hedge fund investing, James (Ferrell) lacks social tact and has little common sense. Which is why he is easily framed for tax evasion, resulting in him being sentenced to a lengthy stay in prison. Having lived an incredibly comfortable and sheltered life, James enlists Darnell (Hart) to prepare him for prison life for $3o,ooo (a drop in the bucket for James, but a life saver for Darnell). The only problem is Darnell has never been to prison and James’ assumption is based purely on the fact that Darnell is black.
Photo by Patti Perret.
What follows is one stereotype-based racial joke after another, with plenty of gay jokes (including the movie’s title) thrown in for equal opportunity offensiveness. Ferrell excels at playing the dumbfounded dimwit, and seeing his character trying to adapt to urban culture is almost as funny as Buddy the elf’s culture shocking obliviousness in Elf. Hart’s strength is playing the squeaky-voiced, Chris Tucker-like funny guy, so he has no trouble assuming that role once again here. There’s even a cameo by Shad Gaspard who, despite the gang-banging Cryme Tyme persona he brought to WWE, does not portray a thuggish criminal.
Get Hard‘s funniest moments occur after Darnell turns to his cousin Russell, a hardened thug who actually has served time, for help preparing the entitled James for prison life. As Russell, T.I. surprisingly steals every scene he’s in. After Darnell realizes James is not even guilty of the crime that is sending him to prison, Get Hard climaxes with a ridiculously hilarious Capoeira display by James that results in him being exonerated. The entire fiasco results in James, Darnell and everyone that helped them gaining a new appreciation for each other’s lifestyles. So even with all the offensive humor, there’s a somewhat positive message in the end. But even without that, it would be hard for this movie not to evoke a few guilty laughs from just about anyone.