‘The Upside’ Bullet Point Review

Using bullet points, I’m going to give you my (SPOILER FILLED) thoughts on Kevin Hart’s “dramatic” performance debut…‘The Upside’!

 

• Props to Hart for being formidable in this “dramatic” role and still being funny
  • And not using an over-the-top personality he sometimes uses in his comedic roles
  • Now his serious acting wasn’t good at some points and it seemed like he was being jokingly serious. But the other times, he was fine
  • Hart playing a father and trying to be serious in those called for moments wasn’t working for me
• The catheter scene was the funniest
• When Phillip (Bryan Cranston) and Dell (Hart) start getting more comfortable with each other, the movie started to loosen up
  • Hart’s comedic side started to take over more than his “serious” side
• I thought the stealing of the book ordeal would cause a big rift between Phillip and Dell but when Phillip found out, nothing happened
  • It came and went
  • Maybe Phillip assumed Dell would steal from him since Dell was a criminal
• Phillip fires Dell over some girl not liking him smh
  • Not cool Phil….not cool
• The father-son dynamic between Dell and his son was teased as being a big element in the story but the film never committed to delving into it seriously

To Sum it Up: The screen presences of Hart saved this from just being a weak attempt at being an uplifting story about second chances

RATING: Might Stream

 

P.S. I have returned to my rating scale that I used to use but with a slight update. There are four different levels. Below is each level in order from best to worse and what each one means.

Must Own = A movie that is so good that I must add it to my Blu-ray collection when it comes out.

Would Accept as a Gift = I enjoyed the movie but don’t necessarily have to buy it (especially if I don’t have the funds to) myself but I would take it if someone bought it for me.

Might Stream = A movie that if I have the urge to watch again then I’ll just stream it from somewhere

Never See Again = Very simple. I don’t want to ever see this movie again.

 

(Photo Credit: STX)