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[tab title="Movie Review"]

Get Hard - Movie Review

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3 stars

You’ve probably already heard the bad word of mouth about Get Hard, kiddos. The critics have spoken. Now, you get your say. Oh, it’s a dumb comedy and full of offensive jabs at almost every living thing to be sure BUT I was never expecting Shakespeare or, hell, Laurel and Hardy from Will Ferrell and Kevin Hart. The strange thing is, nothing in Get Hard bothered me all that much. Shame me for liking it, I guess.

Lazy and coarse, Get Hard is homophobic and racist and crude and crass and pretty much everything else you’d expect from the first Ferrell and Hart comedic team-up. It is also unexpectedly warmhearted (the OTHER critics won’t tell you that) and pretty damn funny. I get the critical outcry over its extremely harsh treatment of homosexuality – especially in 2015 – and I get the fact that there is NOTHING memorable about it. I also get the fact that the film is idle in its attempt to do anything worthy of a second viewing. The film plays – almost solely – to the lowest of low brows in the audience but, damn it, Get Hard made me laugh in spite of everything others are saying is wrong with it.

The buddy picture has the 6-ft. 3-in. Ferrell, a successful (and rather isolated in the 1% bubble) L.A. hedge-fund manager but really an emboldened idiot, seeking knowledge bombs from the 5-ft. 4-in. Hart after facing 76 counts of fraud and embezzlement. Director Etan Cohen, who helped pen King of the Hill, Idiocracy and Tropic Thunder, continues to throw social niceties out the proverbial window and gives audiences an updated view of Trading Places – albeit a dumber one - more than anything else.

Some of the jokes – especially given the fact that Ferrell wholeheartedly believes his bare ass is fodder for all the gay prisoners – are way too easy to land without thought and full of unfortunate opinions but somewhere in all that idiot-speak is where the funny lies. The situation surrounding these two men grows to be something quite entertaining. Co-starring Craig T. Nelson, Alison Brie, Greg Germann, Edwina Dickerson, and Ariana Neal, Get Hard is not a thinking-man’s comedy. It never promises to be but it is, indeed, funny.

Ferrell knows this character. He’s built his entire career on perfecting the role of the ignorant idiot on film. Hart, used to the slightly inferior sidekick role, gets more of a chance to shine in the script by Jay Martel and Ian Roberts. He’s mistaken, by Ferrill, as an ex-con (based solely on his skin color) and invents a backstory worthy of his suddenly increased paycheck to “help” Ferrill survive the thugs in San Quentin. Being black, Ferrill surmises, he must know the ins and outs of prison. Thing is, Hart’s character doesn’t. The dear-lord-they-did-NOT-go-there hilarity continues with several scenes of uncomfortable nudity (a Ferrill specialty) and near-fatal fellatio moments in bathroom stalls.

Get Hard is a comedy that is not for weak of heart. It even tackles its own title and makes it the butt of the joke (heh heh heh). The film is for the college-aged Friday/Saturday night students or (possibly) well-adjusted adults wanting to see these actors do what they do best: be funny at everyone’s cost. Ferrell does Lil’ Wayne. Hart does a wanna-be Boyz in the Hood impression. Each one is funny if people, unlike the majority of the print critics, can just get over themselves and crack a smile.

Get Hard is exactly the comedy you’d expect it to be; lewd, outrageous, and certainly not to be taken out of its own context. Regardless of what the critics are suggesting, enjoying it does not mean that you are tasteless and going straight to Hell. If it does, well, I’ll save you a seat somewhere in the first row.

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[tab title="Film Details"]

Get Hard - Movie Review

MPAA Rating: R for pervasive crude and sexual content and language, some graphic nudity, and drug material
Runtime:
100 mins
Director
: Etan Cohen
Writer:
Jay Martel, Ian Roberts
Cast:
Will Ferrell, Kevin Hart, Alison Brie
Genre
: Comedy
Tagline:
An education in incarceration.
Memorable Movie Quote: "This ain't no longer your house, man! We in San Quentin now!"
Distributor:
Warner Bros.
Official Site: http://gethardmovie.com/#/
Release Date:
March 27, 2015
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date:
Own "Get Hard" on Blu-ray Combo Pack on June 30th or own it now on Digital HD!
Synopsis: When millionaire hedge fund manager James (Will Ferrell) is nailed for fraud and bound for a stretch in San Quentin, the judge gives him 30 days to get his affairs in order. Desperate, he turns to Darnell (Kevin Hart) to prep him for a life behind bars. But despite James' one-percenter assumptions, Darnell is a hard-working small business owner who has never received a parking ticket, let alone been to prison.

Together, the two men do whatever it takes for James to "get hard" and, in the process, discover how wrong they were about a lot of things – including each other.

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[tab title="Blu-ray Review"]

Get Hard - Movie Review

Blu-ray

Blu-ray Details:

Available on Blu-ray - June 30, 2015
Screen Formats: 1.85:1
Subtitles
: English SDH, French, Spanish
Audio:
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1; French (Canada): Dolby Digital 5.1; Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
Discs: 50GB Blu-ray Disc; Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD); UV digital copy; Digital copy; DVD copy
Region Encoding: A

Warner Brothers Home Entertainment's 1.78:1 AVC 1080p transfer is ripe with texture and color and all sorts of hard-hitting insults. It doesn't; however, insult the eyes. This is a bright, bright, bright transfer that ripples with warm colors and heavy greens. Black levels are strong throughout and skin tones are perfect in their display of imperfections. There is no noticeable digital manipulation. The 5.1 DTS-HD MA track is effective with dialogue being front-loaded and immersive experience delegated to the rear channels.

Supplements:

Commentary:

  • None

Special Features:

It's not much, but it is a comedy and these special features are pretty damn funny on their own. They include the super silly Kevin Hart workout for those who really want to as the title suggests "Get Hard", 24 minutes of deleted scenes, hilarious footage of Ferrell "fighting", a gag with John Mayer, and the obligatory gag reel. A bonus DVD and HD Copy of the film is also included in the release.

  • Just Put Your Lips Together and Blow (3 min)
  • Line-O-Ramas (4 min)
  • The Kevin Hart Workout (3 min)
  • Face Off with Will Ferrell and Kevin Hart (5 min)
  • Ferrell Fighting (3 min)
  • A Date with John Mayer (2 min)
  • Inmates: Out of Control (6 min)
  • Bikers, Babes and Big Bangs (3 min)
  • Gag Reel (3 min)
  • Deleted Scenes (24 min)

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