About Last Night, 2014.
Directed by Steve Pink.
Starring Kevin Hart, Regina Hall, Michael Ealy, Joy Bryant, Christopher McDonald, Adam Rodgiguez, Joe Lo Truglio and Paula Patton.
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SYNOPSIS:
Follow two couples as they journey from the bar to the bedroom and are eventually put to the test in the real world.
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I've always had a rocky relationship with American comedies, especially rom-coms. More times than not they're the absolute bottom of the barrel, and even if they're above average they work best as something to catch on Netflix or Redbox. Silver Linings Playbook is the only one I've seen in recent memory that I felt warranted a visit to the local cinema, so when I saw the trailer to About Last Night I rolled my eyes. Kevin Hart is a funny guy but he tends to pick some iffy projects, and Ride Along was fresh in my memory which was not a good movie for me. The silver lining was that it was directed by Steve Pink, who helmed the vastly underrated Hot Tub Machine. Still, this seemed like it'd be a movie that'd waste every one's talents, and give away its few funny moments in the trailer.
I am pleasantly surprised to say that About Last Night doesn't waste its potential, and in a lot of ways raises above the sum of its parts. The story sees Danny - played by Micheal Ealy (Think Like a Man, Takers) - meeting Debbie - played by Joy Bryant (Get Rich or Die Trying) - and takes us through all the stages of their relationship. Immediately noticeable is the fact there's no goofy and cute meet here; instead, they meet like most couples do - through their friends Bernie (Kevin Hart) and Joan (Regina Hall).
This movie has some great things going for it. The chemistry here flies off the screen with Hall, Ealy and Hart all having previously worked together on Think Like a Man. They're all funny and Ealy has made a great transition from being a dramatic character actor to a leading man. Joy Bryant, who I've never cared for, delivers a great turn as Debbie and her and Ealy are so good together you forget they're not a real couple. Paula Patton has a small role as Danny's crazy ex-girlfriend and she was absolutely hilarious.
Another great thing is the movie's honesty. All the jokes are character jokes rather than goofy, out-of-place slapstick humor. It also deals with relationships very gracefully and it's incredibly hard not to relate to the two leads. Not to the point of say a Woody Allen movie or a Duplass film, but what it lacks in subtly it makes up for with chemistry, satisfaction, and laughs. It's also nice to have a comedy featuring a black cast without one joke specific to African Americans.
The main thing About Last Night has going for it is Kevin Hart. Kevin Hart is a funny guy who got his start working with Judd Apatow. Just like Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill, and the rest of the crew he understands how to balance raunchy with smart humor (but with less success, usually). In Think Like a Man he was great because he was given good jokes and has delivery but he's never had great dialogue to work with. He still hasn't gotten that dialogue yet, but it's getting there. He's absolutely hilarious in this movie and I'm waiting for him to step his game up and do something more daring, and if he was given Aaron Sorkin level of dialogue I think he'd be a comedic force to reckon with. Working with Judd Apatow or other great comedy directors like Edgar Wright or Woody Allen would really make him shine outside his fanbase, but with this right here it's obvious his breakthrough role is coming up.
The only problem here is that this movie is a mess on a technical level. It's smarter then your average rom-com, but it's not at the level of competency of say 500 Days of Summer. Steve Pink knows how to tell a joke on screen, but I found his direction flat and sometimes I felt the cuts were too quick and it started to strain my eyes. The narrative bounces around their relationship much like 500 Days of Summer does, but that had a specific structure and this doesn't. It's just kind of one long act, up until the break up. The worst offender has to be the editing, and while the movie is well-paced, there are some weird cuts and its jumps around a little too fast, not giving the story time to breathe.
All in all this is a good romantic comedy and is worth catching at a matinee. These actors are all the best they've ever been and the characters are so fun and colorful that I found myself wanting to see a sequel. The only place it really fails is on a filmmaking level, but even then it's not enough to ruin the movie for me. I wish it had been a little deeper with some better direction, which could have put it on the level of Silver Linings or 500 Days of Summer, but then again it's great for what it is. And Kevin Hart's big break is coming...
Flickering Myth Rating - Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Anthony Stokes is a blogger and independent filmmaker who also assists with the music blog DopesterMusic and co-hosts the podcast Delusional Losers.
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Directed by Steve Pink.
Starring Kevin Hart, Regina Hall, Michael Ealy, Joy Bryant, Christopher McDonald, Adam Rodgiguez, Joe Lo Truglio and Paula Patton.
SYNOPSIS:
Follow two couples as they journey from the bar to the bedroom and are eventually put to the test in the real world.
I've always had a rocky relationship with American comedies, especially rom-coms. More times than not they're the absolute bottom of the barrel, and even if they're above average they work best as something to catch on Netflix or Redbox. Silver Linings Playbook is the only one I've seen in recent memory that I felt warranted a visit to the local cinema, so when I saw the trailer to About Last Night I rolled my eyes. Kevin Hart is a funny guy but he tends to pick some iffy projects, and Ride Along was fresh in my memory which was not a good movie for me. The silver lining was that it was directed by Steve Pink, who helmed the vastly underrated Hot Tub Machine. Still, this seemed like it'd be a movie that'd waste every one's talents, and give away its few funny moments in the trailer.
I am pleasantly surprised to say that About Last Night doesn't waste its potential, and in a lot of ways raises above the sum of its parts. The story sees Danny - played by Micheal Ealy (Think Like a Man, Takers) - meeting Debbie - played by Joy Bryant (Get Rich or Die Trying) - and takes us through all the stages of their relationship. Immediately noticeable is the fact there's no goofy and cute meet here; instead, they meet like most couples do - through their friends Bernie (Kevin Hart) and Joan (Regina Hall).
This movie has some great things going for it. The chemistry here flies off the screen with Hall, Ealy and Hart all having previously worked together on Think Like a Man. They're all funny and Ealy has made a great transition from being a dramatic character actor to a leading man. Joy Bryant, who I've never cared for, delivers a great turn as Debbie and her and Ealy are so good together you forget they're not a real couple. Paula Patton has a small role as Danny's crazy ex-girlfriend and she was absolutely hilarious.
Another great thing is the movie's honesty. All the jokes are character jokes rather than goofy, out-of-place slapstick humor. It also deals with relationships very gracefully and it's incredibly hard not to relate to the two leads. Not to the point of say a Woody Allen movie or a Duplass film, but what it lacks in subtly it makes up for with chemistry, satisfaction, and laughs. It's also nice to have a comedy featuring a black cast without one joke specific to African Americans.
The main thing About Last Night has going for it is Kevin Hart. Kevin Hart is a funny guy who got his start working with Judd Apatow. Just like Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill, and the rest of the crew he understands how to balance raunchy with smart humor (but with less success, usually). In Think Like a Man he was great because he was given good jokes and has delivery but he's never had great dialogue to work with. He still hasn't gotten that dialogue yet, but it's getting there. He's absolutely hilarious in this movie and I'm waiting for him to step his game up and do something more daring, and if he was given Aaron Sorkin level of dialogue I think he'd be a comedic force to reckon with. Working with Judd Apatow or other great comedy directors like Edgar Wright or Woody Allen would really make him shine outside his fanbase, but with this right here it's obvious his breakthrough role is coming up.
The only problem here is that this movie is a mess on a technical level. It's smarter then your average rom-com, but it's not at the level of competency of say 500 Days of Summer. Steve Pink knows how to tell a joke on screen, but I found his direction flat and sometimes I felt the cuts were too quick and it started to strain my eyes. The narrative bounces around their relationship much like 500 Days of Summer does, but that had a specific structure and this doesn't. It's just kind of one long act, up until the break up. The worst offender has to be the editing, and while the movie is well-paced, there are some weird cuts and its jumps around a little too fast, not giving the story time to breathe.
All in all this is a good romantic comedy and is worth catching at a matinee. These actors are all the best they've ever been and the characters are so fun and colorful that I found myself wanting to see a sequel. The only place it really fails is on a filmmaking level, but even then it's not enough to ruin the movie for me. I wish it had been a little deeper with some better direction, which could have put it on the level of Silver Linings or 500 Days of Summer, but then again it's great for what it is. And Kevin Hart's big break is coming...
Flickering Myth Rating - Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Anthony Stokes is a blogger and independent filmmaker who also assists with the music blog DopesterMusic and co-hosts the podcast Delusional Losers.
