Get Hard (2015) User Reviews

Funnier than expected

[bob-the-movie-man · 7/10 · 7 July 2015]

Get Hard was a film I really wasn't expecting to like much, but it was significantly funnier than I expected it to be. Will Ferrell's films have had a tendency to be a bit like Russian Roulette as of late, but this one is fortunately one with no bullet in the chamber. Ferrell plays James, a market trader with (in some people's books) an idyllic life: beautiful house, beautiful fiancée (the boss's daughter) and more money that Trump could shake a stick at.

But the idyll is shattered when he is arrested and then convicted of corruption on a massive scale. Wanting to set a public example , the judge sentences him to the delights of San Quentin and James has 30 days to "Get Hard" before being thrown to the mercy of the inmates. Helping him in the task is Kevin Hart ("Ride Along") who, primarily for reasons of personal financial gain, pretends to be much more 'street' than he really is.

What I enjoyed about this film was the leisurely set up of character and plot before the real comedy (the 'training') kicked in. This is where Ferrell and Hart really work together well, and I thought Hart was excellent in his role. Also good to see Craig T. Nelson ("Poltergeist", "Blades of Glory") back on the big screen as James's boss.

There are few films where I have guffawed out loud so much at certain points: some really good visual slapstick humour. However, the film will be far from everyone's tastes, with some very close to the knuckle jokes. In particular things come to a 'head', as it were, with some mano-a-mano action between Ferrell and Matt Walsh ("VEEP", "Into the Storm"), where the crudometer gets cranked up to "Farrelly". The film is also let down by a weak ending and if there was a joke to be had in the last line of the film, it completely flew over my head.

Recommended for some good belly laughs for the broad minded.

(If you enjoyed this review please see the graphical version at bob-the-movie-man.com and enter your email address to get future reviews. Thanks).

Funny moments but disappointing from this comedy duo

[stephendaxter · 5/10 · 10 June 2015]

Get Hard is a comedy starring two of the funniest actors out there today, and having this duo of Kevin Hart and Will Ferrell you would think would make for an extremely funny movie, unfortunately it doesn't but it still had its fair share of good laughs. They had pretty good chemistry and most if not all of the good funny moments came from the interactions between the two of them. They played off the racial stereotypes for pretty much the entire film and as the film went on it got less funny and repetitive. The good moments of the film in terms of the comedy came in the middle of the film, thats where you have everyone introduced and the build up is over but you are also not yet exhausted by the repetitive jokes. In terms of their performances, there is nothing new here, it feels like they were both playing similar characters that they have played many times before in their previous films. But the characters did fit very well into the plot.

The plot of the film was a little predictable, but at the same time i wasn't bored of following the plot. It didn't feel like certain plot points happened in order to get a few quick jokes in, everything flowed pretty well and i was still interested in seeing what was going to happen next. There is not much else i can say about this film, there is nothing new to see here from Will or Kevin, but the film does provide with some good jokes and an interesting plot that can get you through the film fairly entertained. So i guess if you are a fan of either member of this comedy duo then you will enjoy seeing them together in this film. - 5/10

Prison Coach

[kosmasp · 6/10 · 4 October 2015]

Which is the title the movie got in Germany (for a change it's not an English title, but in German). Considering the comedy talent at hand, I understand that some might be disappointed in this. But it's still decent enough, even with some mediocre jokes thrown in there from time to time. Not to mention the fact, that this is as predictable as it gets (story wise that is).

Not sure if the jokes about homosexuality work most of the time either, but you have to give/cut them some slack for trying (while not dumbing them down too much). The word play is there (see title), which is played out pretty nicely in one particular scene (turning point sort of). Don't expect too much and you'll be entertained

Some aspects of it feel forced and unnecessary, but it still managed to register some big laughs with me

[jimbo-53-186511 · 6/10 · 12 June 2016]

James King (Will Ferrell) is a wealthy stockbroker with a seemingly perfect and enviable lifestyle (big house, hot girlfriend etc). However, things come to a head when evidence is found to show that King has committed acts of fraud and embezzlement. In order to make an example out of him and to show that 'rich people' won't get an easy ride, the judge sentences King to the maximum sentence of 10 years in prison at San Quentin which is one of America's toughest prisons. King isn't prepared for life in prison and based on a conversation that he has with Darnell (Kevin Hart) he makes the assumption that Darnell has been to prison before and King offers to pay Darnell $30,000 dollars to toughen up ready for prison life which King will be facing in the next 30 days. Being hugely in debt and for his family's sake, Darnell agrees to prepare King for life in prison (even though he's never been in prison in his life!!!).

Both Will Ferrell and Kevin Hart have both been hit and miss actor's in my book and therefore I approached this film with some caution and actually feared the worst. However, after watching it I thought it was much better than I expected it to be - although it isn't without it's fair share of problems....

The storyline is fairly generic and there's definitely a whiff of Trading Places about it (it only really steals one aspect from that film rather than feeling like a 'rip-off' of that film). If you're expecting to see much originality in the material then you're going to be a little disappointed - quite a bit of the material is recycled prison clichés and much of this is witnessed when Darnell puts King through his toughening up boot-camp.

Despite some of these problems there were some parts of the film that got some big laughs from me; I couldn't help but laugh at the scenes where King tries to pick fights with people at the park (with one scene where he picks on an old man and gets his ass kicked). I also loved the part where Martin (Craig T Nelson) is talking about how he built his successful business with just a computer, hard work and an $8,000,000 loan from his dad - it doesn't sound that funny when it's put in writing, but the way Nelson delivers the gag does make it funny. It's stuff like this that helps to take the edge of the cruder stuff that is witnessed at other moments in the film.

Another strength with this film lies with the performances of Will Ferrell and Kevin Hart. The former is actually very good at acting as a 'whiny' jerk (perhaps too good), but in a film like Get Hard this style of acting works to his advantage and it really is hard not to laugh at some of the things that he says and does here. Hart is not someone who I've been too kind to in the past, but I think that I've never really seen him in a role that I've felt that he can put his own stamp on (until now). In some ways I thought that Hart steals the show here and in some ways seeing a much smaller figure like Hart being physically dominant over someone as large as Ferrell somehow made the scenario funnier to me. Both these actors share brilliant chemistry together and in some ways their physical humour and terrific performances overcome the fairly weak story.

I've been generally positive with this film so far but I think it's important to draw your attention to some weaknesses with the film. Whilst it clearly relies on race issues to carry it in the early stages it always feels palatable (a basic misunderstanding based on 'race' is what lead to King making his assumption). This, for me, was tolerable in order to set the story up, but later in the film it starts to go off the rails a little bit by providing us with some forced and unnecessary moments (I felt that the scenes with The Crenshaws and The Alliances Of Whites) were a little too much and I don't feel that they were particularly necessary. It's also predictable and isn't funny often enough for me to be able to shout its praise from the rooftops.

With all that being said though, some of the material is funny, Ferrell and Hart are both excellent here and the chemistry between the two men is first-rate. It's not brilliant, but on the same note it was funny enough for me.

I Laughed Hard!

[namashi_1 · 7/10 · 2 May 2015]

Laughter is the best medicine & a comedy film essentially does that. And 'Get Hard' is among those winning comedies, that despite its crude humor & language, made me laugh hard! Its a fun watch.

'Get Hard' Synopsis: When millionaire James King is jailed for fraud and bound for San Quentin, he turns to Darnell Lewis to prep him to go behind bars.

'Get Hard' is consistently fun. Jay Martel, Ian Roberts & Etan Cohen's Screenplay, though very crude, is hilarious & the camaraderie between its protagonists, works massively. Though a bit lengthier than it should have been, the Writing is mostly packed with good jokes & sequences. Etan Cohen's Direction is decent. Cinematography is richly done. Editing is slightly iffy.

Performance-Wise: Its good to see both, Will Ferrell & Kevin Hart, at their comedic best. Ferrell is no less than a treasure here as the innocent under scrutiny, while Hart, as his guru, oozes tremendous energy. And as a team, they both work superbly! Among others, the ever-dependable Craig T. Nelson, leaves a mark.

On the whole, 'Get Hard' will make you laugh! Watch It!

Good comedy for a fun evening, but for the right mood

[reazonable · 7/10 · 20 June 2015]

This is a great comedy with a lot of good racial humor, but it is for a narrow audience. If you like racial humor, Will Ferrell and Kevin Hart comedies, and bubble butts, you will love the movie. Although that is a lot of if's and many people will find it too distant from their own life experience to relate to the characters. The scenes are hardly predictable and will definitely surprise if not shock you. Some scenes may drag on for too long, but generally the movie flies by quickly. The acting is good, but for the fans of Will Farrell and Kevin Hart. Also make sure you are in a proper mood for watching an obscene comedy because the jokes will not spare you!

One of the worst films I've ever seen

[Blueghost · 24 August 2015]

I don't get why people like Will Ferrell. I've seen several of his movies over the last year, and I've laughed maybe just over a half dozen times at the dozen or so films I've seen him in.

And this film, other than the fact that it's about prisoners or criminals, has the worst jokes ever. I can't imagine anyone being in the theatre and seriously laughing at this junk.

Admittedly, I chuckled, and I do emphasize chuckle because I didn't laugh, a few times in this film. It wasn't entirely without humor, but the jokes were so base, the humor so low brow, the comic timing so poor, that one wonders what's happened to the aggregate IQ of the people of the United States of America.

A predictable script / story, some tasteless sexual situations, I wondered if the prisoner population, or people related and relating to prisoners, was such a big demographic that Will Ferrell and the powers that be thought this would be a good film to make.

Everyone I've talked to smirks and thinks Will Ferrell is Luke warm funny, me included. He's not entirely without humor. But he and his films are not the product of comic genius.

Hey look, if you've "done time", need to laugh at your incarceration, then maybe this film is for you, but otherwise give me the Three Stooges or Warner Brothers' cartoons any day over this garbage.

Avoid.

It has it's moments

[osj2507 · 5/10 · 22 August 2015]

It has it's moments, but all in all it could have been more, this duo works out quite well, but we never see the real power of them, they never really shine. There are scenes and lines here and there that work very well, but in the end it just gets a bit too superficial and delivers fast easy jokes that doesn't hit the mark for these two.

All is well that ends well and that it does, but we kind of figured that all from the beginning, in many ways this is way too obvious and does deliver what I expected, I know I sound very harsh and not very thrilled about this one and I am very disappointed :)

I did like the two main characters, both pretending to be someone they are not, and really working hard at getting everything to work out, while just being awkward and out of place.

Funny & Clever

[imbendingtime · 8/10 · 3 July 2015]

I wonder if what the critics don't like about this movie is that it is actually clever, funny and vulnerable. I am glad I resisted the critic reviews and saw it. The performances by all actors are genuine. And of course there is just enough physical comedy and absurdity to make it silly in a good way.

Don't listen to the crusty old curmudgeons its a fun movie to watch. Some of the jokes are actually intelligent and you have to know a little about what is going on economically and racially in the Country to really get them. The only thing that I find puzzling is in every movie that has biker gangs, they never seem to get them right. They always portray them cartoony that was the only thing that I found disinteresting and only because of aesthetics.

Its a cute comedy. Don't be turned away by the crusty critics

Hart and Ferrell team up well

[bankofmarquis · 7/10 · 4 April 2015]

Will Ferrell is an acquired taste. Either you like his humor, his ability to just "go for it" or you don't. Such is the case with GET HARD. If you like Ferrell, you'll like this movie. If you don't, don't waste your time.

The surprise to me, in this movie, was Kevin Hart. He, basically, is the star of this movie with Ferrell playing the straight man. That is, until Ferrell "breaks loose." Which means the first 3/5 of the movie is Hart's - and he hold our attention, and the humor, quite well.

But it is in a scene about 3/5 of the way in the movie that Ferrell finally lets go - and he lets go in one of the funniest sequences I have ever scene. I cannot describe the scene here for it is VERY politically incorrect, VERY adult and VERY funny. This scene is worth the price of admission alone.

I turn into about a 14 year old kid when Ferrell is at the top of his game, and - at times - he is in this movie with Hart providing enough backup humor to make this flick worth watching.

7 (out of 10) stars and you can take that to the Bank (of Marquis)

Not funny, but clever!

[Ramascreen · 7/10 · 28 March 2015]

With GET HARD, I was bracing myself for sitting uncomfortably through a movie that was going to be racists and full of gay and dick jokes, constantly bombarding me and to a certain extent, racism is a big chunk or GET HARD's jokes, but it's mostly at the expense of rich people's ignorance toward minority and vice versa. And I never thought I'd ever say this about a Will Ferrell movie, but GET HARD is clever and I'll explain why.

Will Ferrell plays millionaire James King who's nailed for fraud and he request the help of the man who washes his car, Darnell Lewis (Kevin Hart) to prepare him for life behind bars. That's essentially the plot for GET HARD. Quite simple and straightforward. The humor isn't always funny, the racist jokes aren't always spot on. It would've been one thing if they were, after all comedy almost always gets a pass for everything, so I wouldn't have been easily offended either, but what GET HARD lacks in its ability to get you to even chuckle, it makes up for in its clever concept.

To me, GET HARD is a satire on the one percenter, in one of the scenes, Will Ferrell's James King tells Kevin Hart's Darnell Lewis that hardwork, not handouts, pay off. But then there's another scene in which Will Ferrell's James King teaches urban black folks how to play stocks correctly and create wealth for themselves (even though the business they're in is shady) and that to me goes to show the mindset that one percenter has, they quickly dismiss the rest of us as lazy, when in fact sometimes all we need is just an investment to get ourselves started, sometimes all we need is somebody to teach us how to create wealth as well. The skills that these few rich claim to have, can be taught, they can be shared, they can be distributed, there's nothing exclusive about them. I don't remember having seen a comedy that tackles that, so I find myself pleasantly surprised by GET HARD. If that doesn't get you impressed, then what can do the trick is GET HARD's many ways of re-creating prison scenarios. It may not crack you up but it's interesting to see how a Bell-Air mansion gets transformed into a prison cell, prison yard and much more and they utilize the maids, the gardeners, the servants, posing as prison inmates, it's very creative.

Will Ferrell is in his usual self, butt naked, crying loudly and hysterically, I really can't get myself laughing at his being himself anymore, and Kevin Hart, the man who pretty much fills the void that Eddie Murphy left behind, is also in his usual self, banking on his being short, black, and a fast-talker, and so GET HARD pretty much presents all you already know about both Will Ferrell and Kevin Hart, but the concept is a hidden gem.

Read more at Ramascreen.Com

Kev Hart and Will Ferrell are Comedic Gold

[jerrywright15 · 7/10 · 28 March 2015]

I am a huge fan of both of these actors and the things they are able to accomplish on the big screen. You've got the funny, slightly weird, everyman, Will Ferrell who constantly brings audiences to tears with his comedic work in movies like Anchorman, Talladega Nights, Step Brothers...etc. Then you have the rising box office movie star, stand up genius, one of the funniest guys in this GALAXY Kevin Hart who shines in buddy movies like Ride Along, About Last Night, The Wedding Ringer, Think Like A Man..so on. The pairing of these two actors on the big screen was a match made in the comedic heavens. It has been quite awhile since I have been able to sit in a theater and do nothing but laugh for a movies 100 min run time. From beginning to bittersweet end you will never find a period longer then a very few minutes where you just won't find something to laugh at. Although the way these two actors bring comedy to life may be slightly different, the play off each other exceptionally well in this movie as if they've been working together for years. Not to mention you get TWO very physical comedic actors who are not afraid to push subjects and themselves for pure entertainment. In my opinion this movie is far superior to Wedding Ringer or Ride Along, so if you enjoyed those, you'll love this. My only complaints for this would be that for a rated R picture, this was still very tame in terms of what these two "could" have brought to the table. The only thing that really seems to make this an R comedy is the mild language that really isn't that harsh and a large amount of the word "dick" and the actual showing of a penis. Other then that its your run of the mill comedy that brings me back to the days of an early Adam Sandler or Jim Carrey movie; with the laughs that just won't stop. I'd recommend keeping small children at home but other then that it really is a movie guaranteed to make the harshest of hearts smile. Hopefully from this we will start to see Kevin Hart take over as complete lead of a movie and put his acting to the ultimate test. As for Will Ferrell..well what can you say about a guy who pretty much conquers every single role he is offered, except for, I hope to see him in countless more roles. On a side note, for you rap fans out there. T.I. makes a substantial cameo in this movie and you can tell he still knows how to hold a screen from his ATL days.

The Two Stars Make the Material

[Michael_Elliott · 31 July 2015]

Get Hard (2015)

*** (out of 4)

Millionaire James King (Will Ferrell) gets ten years in prison for a crime he didn't commit but he still needs to learn how to survive on the inside so he hires Darnell (Kevin Hart) to teach him how to be hard. James thinks just because Darnell is black that he's been in prison but what he doesn't know is that Darnell is just as chicken as him when it comes to fighting.

GET HARD isn't a complete success but there's no question that the two leads are in good form and there are enough laughs that make this worth sitting through. If you're looking for some sort of masterpiece or high-art comedy then you're not going to find it here. There's nothing clean about this movie as it attacks all races, sexes and genders as it pretty much tries to offend anyone and goes for the most obvious and at times graphic jokes that it can. There was some pre-release controversy about some of the stereotype jokes but I think it's safe to say that everyone is insulted so it's fair game.

I think the best thing going for the film is the chemistry between Ferrell and Hart. Both of them work well off of one another and especially whenever the screenplay lets them down. In all honesty, there's not too much here that we haven't seen in other comedies about prison but the two actors take the material and make it much better than it actually is. One of the highlights in the film is when Ferrell is supposed to go up to some tough guys and start a fight. The terror that Ferrell gets across was just hilarious.

The formula is pretty predictable as is the outcome. With that said, I'd guess that only around sixty percent of the jokes actually work but there are enough big ones to make the film worth viewing.

Outrageous!

[bbickley13-921-58664 · 7/10 · 30 March 2015]

A little skeptical at first due to the fact that the movie rips off another Saturday Night Live alum's movie. Rob Snider basically played the same character in Big Stan, Will Ferrell plays in Get Hard, so I thought it was strange the Ferrell would rip him off.

Of course Ferrell is far funnier in this situation of a white collar crook getting sentence to hard time and needing to be shown how to Survive prison.

Does not hurt to have Kevin Hart as your teacher. Kevin Hart is always funny.

I definitely would recommend seeing the movie. It's stupid, but that is the point, and Hart and Ferrell deliver some good laughs.

Predictable

[westsideschl · 2/10 · 4 July 2015]

Nothing original - just a series of stolen monologues taken from past N.Y. & L.A. studios' formula of: 1. Stereotyping black and white views of each other (well, OK, ball park 90% were from the white camp). 2. Stereotyping rich and poor and their accompanying behaviors; as well as each toward the other (well, OK, 90% mostly put-downs of the wealthy). 3. Loads of obscenities for those still stick-stuck in that compensation stage of life (ages 13-17), or just as a convenient multipurpose tool to replace language never learned in school. 4. Lots of sex/drugs references to support #3 above and most importantly to give a dull, if not boring, script an edge. 5. Predictable martial arts action exchanges throughout the film as well as their eventual outcomes. Martial arts obviously rescued by stunt doubles and camera angles. 6. Ferrell looked tired; Hart looked stuck-in-a-rut. 7. Boils down to typical mental movie junk food, ball park: (80% of what comes out of the N.Y. & L.A. studios; 90% out of Bolly studios; 95% of releases from both Mexican TV & film studios).

Let Me See Your Mad Dog Face

[briand6465 · 7/10 · 31 March 2015]

Let Me See Your Mad Dog Face: Watched Get Hard starring Will Ferrell and Kevin Hart. Millionaire businessman "James King" played by Ferrell is caught-up in a financial scheme and is eventually nailed for fraud. His sentence is 10 years at San Quentin, California State Prison, so he hires "Darnell Lewis," his car-detail/wash guy played by Hart to prep him to survive while behind bars. "Darnell" agrees to help "James" but for a hefty price, $30,000 because he and his wife "Rita" played by Edwina Findley Dickerson are looking for a new house in a safe community for their daughter "Makayla" played by Ariana Neal.

"Darnell" does his best to train "James" who thinks he's been in prison before for the worst time of his life, when in reality it is "Russell" his cousin played by T.I. who tells "Darnell" what prison is really like. "James King" tries to seek protection from The "Crenshaw Kings," black gang, then a white gang, "Alliance Of Whites" while he is incarcerated. It is now up to "Darnell" to help "James" figure out how to prove his innocence instead of preparing him for prison.

The film also features a performance from John Mayer and veteran actor Craig T. Nelson who plays "Martin," "James King's" boss and hopeful father-in-law as "Alissa" played by Alison Brie is engaged to "James" for a bit in the movie until she finds out about his legal troubles.

Ferrell plays "James King" well and fits the part of being naturally funny as he was playing other characters in previous films like Anchorman. This 100 minute comedy is Rated R with some mild nudity and gay references but really hilarious! Makes a great date-night movie. My Cinema Score is 7/10! ‪#‎maverickradio‬™

A Great Comedy with Vulnerability

[A-L-Ourson · 9/10 · 12 April 2015]

I went into this film thinking that it would be just a dumb comedy, which I happen to love; however, the film exceeded my expectations. It does have funny stupid humor, but there is also an unexpected vulnerability in the two main characters.

Will Ferrell and Kevin Hart both portray good guys that are in bad situations. Kevin Hart's character, Darnell, has his own business, but bad credit and lack of savings keeps him and his family living in a rough area. Will Ferrell's character, James, has it all--beautiful fiancée, tons of money, lovely house. Sadly, James is framed for embezzlement and is sentenced to 10 years in a maximum security prison. Darnell, for a price, becomes James' tutor for prison life and hilarity ensues.

Even more than hilarity, James and Darnell start to genuinely care for each other. Their bromance is one for the books. The two actors have great chemistry and an awesome height difference. I would totally watch another movie with these two, especially if Will Ferrell does Capoeira again.

I also give points for originality. I have seen a ton of movies in my life, but none were someone gets tutored for prison. Plus, the tutorial is so elaborate and well planned.

Based on chemistry, comedy, creativity, and Capoeira, I definitely recommend this film!

Wait for on demand

[gianlucamarzano16 · 6/10 · 3 April 2015]

Get hard is a comedy starring Will Ferrell and Kevin Hart. It's about James King(Will Ferrell) ,a millionaire is doing great until he gets nailed for fraud. He goes to Darnell(Kevin Hart) asks for help, how to make it through prison. Now seeing the trailer, it seemed like a okay comedy and with the reviews being bad, I had low exceptions, but it was actually a pretty funny comedy. First off, Will Ferrell is amazing, he is always funny. He is honestly the best part of the movie. If the movie didn't have him, it won't be as funny. Now I don't very like Kevin Hart, I like his stand up but his movies just aren't that funny to me, but I will say he was actually very funny in this. The story was very weak In the beginning but as you get to main point of the whole movie, it picks up and gets funny. I will say that this movie says lots and lots of mean jokes towards many races, so of your a person who doesn't like those jokes, get hard Is not a movie for you. Over Get hard was a good comedy with some great moments but you can wait for on demand or redbox

Bottom of the barrel

[edgeofreality · 12 November 2020]

Mostly forgettable and grating film, with Will Ferrel less likeable than usual. His black sidekick doesn't help either.

Belly Aching Good Fun

[mr-abarton · 7/10 · 31 March 2015]

Get Hard is action comedy, written by Etan Cohen, Jay Martel and Ian Roberts and directed by Etan Cohen.

James (Will Farrell) is a successful executive working at a huge financial organisation run by Martin (Craig T Nelson). James is engaged to Alissa (Alison Brie), who happens to be Martin's daughter. Martin sends for James and tells him how proud he is to be getting him as a future son-in-law. Just when James thought that things couldn't get any better, Martin then tells him that he's decided to make him a partner.

Darnell, who runs a small car wash business, tries to ease his mounting money worries, by offering James a life time membership to his car wash for $30,000. James doesn't see his offer as good business however, and immediately turns him down. Alissa and Martin arrange a party to celebrate the engagement, during which, she gives James an electric guitar as a gift. Just as James begins to entertain the many family and friends in attendance, in storm the FBI who duly arrest James for fraud.

Martin vows to help James and immediately puts his lawyer on the case. As his hearing draws nearer, Martin's lawyer tries to get James to plead guilty, saying he'll be out of jail in a year. James is very conscientious however, and decides against it, believing the truth will emerge and clear his name. The hearing arrives and the Judge decides to make an example of James and sentences him to ten years at the high security prison San Quentin and gives James thirty days to put his affairs in order. So with his world in tatters, James tries to get Alissa to run away with him. However, Alissa shows her true colours and leaves him.

A couple days later, James approaches Darnell and asks him to teach him how to survive in prison. Darnell refuses at first, but finally agrees after the desperate James offers to give him the $30,000 he needs. So the laughs come thick and fast as James embarks on his training regime, completely unaware that Darnell, as never actually been in prison and Darnell as 30,000 reasons to keep it secret.

Get Hard is a rock solid blue comedy

[princemilo · 9/10 · 25 March 2015]

If you're offended by pasty white asses, full frontal male nudity and ridiculous vulgarity, do not bother with Get Hard, the funniest film I've seen in a while. This film declares its intent in the title and its opening frame, right after James King (played to perfection in a vehicle designed for Will Ferrell) cries his eyes out – more about that in a moment. Will Ferrell is a divisive figure. There are people who find him hysterical (I am unabashedly in that camp) and those who just don't see what's so funny. Again, if you're in the latter camp, don't try this film to figure it out. It's unapologetic Will being Will from reel to reel.

Life is perfect for white man James King. He's a one percenter and about to become elite amongst even that slim group with his latest promotion to partner in his soon to be father in law's (Craig T. Nelson) investment firm. His fiancée, Alissa (Alison Brie) declares that he needs to have everything, including her body in every white way possible. He has no idea of the meaning of the silver spoon lodged in his mouth, espousing ridiculous platitudes about the value of hard work in front of all of those "beneath" him.

On the flip side is Darnell (Kevin Hart). He's short, black and broke. He has a lovely wife and an adorable young daughter, who unfortunately goes to a very dangerous elementary school in South Central L.A. because Darnell can't afford the down payment on a house in a better area. It is this heart that makes Darnell immediately likable and grounds James' antics.

Darnell owns a mobile car wash for executives inside of James' building. His need of James' money is obvious – and hilariously rebuffed. When things quickly go south for James and he needs something from Darnell, the backlash is equally hilarious. The odd couple setup is obvious and extremely well played, proving, once again, it's more important to execute than try too hard to be original. And, for the record, I'm also in the camp that everything is derivative (see "everything's a remix" for more), so when it comes to where to place one's effort, it should be in For a moment, I saw shades of an excellent comedy from about thirty years ago, Trading Places. Get Hard goes an entirely different direction and it's not nearly in the same class as Trading Place. But for front line, punch you in the face, over-the-top comedy Get Hard delivers the goods.

There are few taboos the film won't touch – racism, homophobia, class-ism to name a few. Comedy has the ability to skewer, shed light upon and potentially even heal some of these ills. No, I'm not saying this film is on par with Dr. King's "I have a dream" speech, but, for the type of comedy it is, I was impressed by how well it plays the white/black divide angle with more nuance, intrigue and, dare I say it, poignancy than I've seen in a while. Homophobia gets a strong and positive tweaking, too, in Darnell's developing friendship with a gay man after a howlingly funny training scene at a local gay hot spot. For how homosexuality is often viewed in large parts of the popular black culture, it was a big deal to see Darnell having a legitimate, caring friendship on the screen.

But enough attempts at convincing. It's a silly, low-brow, rude comedy by design. To complain about it for being such is like being mad at crocodile for biting. They don't hide their teeth – and neither does Get Hard.

Meh...

[Stefan_Loves_Movies · 6/10 · 21 May 2022]

Good actors, but the humor didn't really click with me. It was a bit too vulgar and sexual for my taste and also the movie lacks a strong message to deliver to the audience.

Exceedingly puerile

[smatysia · 4/10 · 20 September 2015]

This film is exceedingly puerile. Obviously, the target demographic is white, straight, 15-year-old boys. Some of the jokes and gags were mildly amusing, and many were wince-inducingly bad or exceptionally repulsive. It is pretty hard to make rape funny and every effort in this movie failed. I realize that the racial and homosexual stereotypes were being played for laughs (usually not achieving them) but I thought that this wasn't allowed anymore. Micro-aggressions and all that. I just can't keep up with the rules of political correctness. One thing that the material couldn't hide was the beauty and talent of Edwina Findlay and Alison Brie.

Worth Watching

[pmtelefon · 7/10 · 25 September 2021]

"Get Hard" has quite a few laughs. It's not a great movie but it is a pretty good one. Will Ferrell can be hit or miss but he hits the right tone in this movie. I haven't seen all of Kevin Hart's movies but he has never let me down. They make a funny team. "Get Hard" is a pretty easy way to spend a couple of hours.

What you'd expect...

[kieranbattams · 6/10 · 29 March 2015]

I love Will Ferrell in my opinion he is the funniest actor working today, I even liked Semi-Pro and feel it is severely underrated. When i heard he was doing a film with Kevin Hart i thought it was a genius idea. The trailers had me laughing.. the premise seemed funny.. until i found out what it really was. That being said this film is extremely racist in parts and the rape jokes really are too much, there comes a time when the line needs to be drawn. Although despite this there are some real laugh out loud moments and both Ferrell and Hart do a great job with their delivery in both physical and dialogue based comedy. When the jokes hit they really do hit.. but some jokes just feel kind of awkward.

I wont go into too much detail because most of you probably already know the premise. Will Ferrell plays a racist stockbroker who assumes that because of the colour of his skin Kevin Hart's character has been to jail and he asks for his help to survive in prison so he doesn't get sexually assaulted.. and yes this is honestly the plot. I expected the film to have a fair amount of rape jokes but there really is a time in the film where i got tired of this and it gets a little uncomfortable. One of the more uncomfortable moments has Will Ferrell attempting to perform oral on a gay character.. to me it just went on way too long. That's not to say there is no good moments. The first half of this movie was actually really enjoyable for the most part. Seeing Kevin Hart train Will Ferrell in his own home was great and the set design was actually great. One scene in the film where Ferrell attempts to pick a fight in the park with some much bigger men had me laughing out loud for a while.

A big problem with the film is that it completely changes course in the last act. The training scenes were fun to watch but then Ferrell and Hart enlist new people (Hart's cousin played by TI) to help him out and the film got slow and started to fall apart before we are treated to a predictable ending. The two comedians are on top form with what they are given and Get Hard isn't a bad way to spend 90 minutes, I didn't hate the film at all but I hope these two work together again some time in a movie that will have a bit more potential to be funnier. I felt we could have been given more but it is what you would expect.. plus the prison riot really was a well-shot and funny scene, more scenes like it would have been great but this film isn't terrible so there's that.