Get Hard (Rated C)
Cast: Will Ferrell, Kevin Hart, Craig T. Nelson, T.I.
Genre: Comedy
Dwight's Rating: 2.5 Stars
A secret organization examining extraterrestrial activity on earth;
a regular Joe Blow given God-like powers to see firsthand the daily challenges facing the Almighty; a man accidentally sent back in time and meets his teenage parents.
The plot lines in some of the biggest film comedies of all time have often been based on preposterous, highly unlikely plots. In fact, most of the top-grossing movie comedies are animated films.
Television too, has a tradition of successful, long-running sitcoms based on the bizarre. From weird "monsters" living in the suburbs, talking horses, a family living with a weird furry alien from a far-away planet, to even a whole family of aliens posing as human beings.
We've been able to suspend all sense of reality to accept these stories, often because we like something about the characters or, quite simply, because these movies or TV shows are genuinely funny.
You'll be called on to suspend a lot of your thought processes for the new comedy, "Get Hard". It does have a lot going for itself, bringing together one of the biggest comedy stars of the last decade, Will Ferrell, with one of today's hottest comedians, Kevin Hart -- who's shaping up (by box-office numbers) to be one of the biggest comedy stars of this decade. However, to best appreciate their film, you'll need to ignore some very giant plot holes.
Though nowhere near as outlandish as some of the genre's best comedies, it becomes very obvious quite early on that this is based on a massively faulty foundation. There is a difference between quirky or eccentric and just plain dumb. And for many "Get Hard" may just be too dumb.
After he is convicted for fraud, white millionaire hedge fund manager James King (Ferrell) asks black businessman Darnell Lewis (Hart) -- who has never been to jail -- to prepare him for his time behind bars. Before he is to be sent to the infamous San Quentin State Prison, James is given 30 days to get his affairs in order.
Therein lies the first problem (and Bahamians should find this aspect especially amusing). While James is placed on an ankle-bracelet monitoring program for these 30-days, and his assets are frozen, for some inexplicable reason his passport is not taken.
Of course he attempts to make a run for it. It's when that fails that instead of trying to clear his name, he decides to focus on getting prepared for his time in jail.
He enlists Darnell -- who washes cars -- for help because he assumes that he's been to prison just because he's black. Darnell doesn't correct him, because he hopes he can make some money. It's all very strange, and for some, probably quite off-putting.
But once all of that nonsense gets out of the way, "Get Hard" settles into a very funny, odd couple-esque buddy comedy. The scenes in which Darnell is helping James to "get hard" for prison, are replete with laugh-out-loud and amusingly awkward moments. It is all very silly, but often hilarious.
Surprisingly, and contrary to a horrible trend sweeping the movie industry, the funniest moments are not what we'd seen in the film's omnipresent trailers and commercials.
Ferrell plays James and is just as clueless and unaware as his character in "Elf". James' life of privilege has left him oblivious to what's happening outside his word, and he's hopelessly out-of-touch. Ferrell's performance is -- compared to some of his other movies -- surprisingly and refreshingly restrained. If you've watched many of his films, you know he tends to go well beyond over-the-top.
Hart, too, is learning the art of the easy touch. Here he's not as obnoxious as he's been in some previous roles, finding the sweet spot between his saccharine effervescence in last year's unpleasant, "Ride Along", and his stellar but acid-tongued enthusiasm in the much, much better, "About Last Night". It's a vast improvement compared to nearly unwatchable and lackluster "The Wedding Ringer" earlier this year.
Their scenes are heavy on physical comedy, but some of the lines are zingers as well. And Farrell and Hart play reasonably well off each other.
A big challenge for some will be the film's heavy reliance on some very serious racial stereotypes. Seemingly no group is immune -- black, white, the poor, the rich, white supremacists, gays, Hispanics. Most of the jabs are probably not meant to offend, as it appears the film is holding up a mirror to society. But in today's politically correct world, many are thin-skinned and may not be able to appreciate the humor.
In any event, things begin to fall down by the third act -- a malady afflicting a great many of the comedies so far this century. The story moves from getting ready for prison, to trying to prove James' innocence. And it quickly becomes as generic as every last R-rated comedy over the past two decades. If you've watched, "The Hangover" or "Horrible Bosses" or anything starring Seth Rogen or Jonah Hill or even Kevin Hart, you'll be hit with that "been there, done that" feeling.
Never mind all that though! Accept it for what it is, and don't read too much into what it's not, and "Get Hard" could be good for more than a few good laughs.

o Dwight Strachan is the host/producer of " Morning Blend" on Guardian Radio. He is a television producer and writer, and an avid TV history and film buff. Email dwight@nasguard.com and follow him on

twitter @morningblend969.

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