With entertaining humor, “Get Hard” proves an overall success

By Riaz Mamdami
Staff Writer

From sexual jokes and gang violence to surprisingly poignant and emotional scenes, “Get Hard” has it all.

Directed by Etan Cohen, “Get Hard” delivers with genuine and emotional acting, developed characters and ludicrous yet entertaining humor. While the plot suffers from being overly straightforward, the film succeeds in being consistently entertaining.

“Get Hard” follows James King (Will Ferrell) after he is charged with insider trading and sentenced to 10 years in prison. To prepare himself, he enlists Darnell (Kevin Hart), an African-American carwash employee, after incorrectly assuming that Darnell is an ex-con who can help prepare him for life in prison.

One of the film’s highlights is the dynamic of the comedic duo. Throughout the film, Ferrell and Hart constantly play off one another with crude and surprisingly humorous jokes. The film subtly switches back and forth, giving each of the actors a chance to be the center of attention while the other lends comedic support.

Additionally, Cohen’s surprising attention to character development is an integral part to the structure of “Get Hard.” King’s change from ignorant to worldly adds genuine touch to his character’s personality, creating a sense of relatability.

The film’s plot is thoroughly entertaining while still being easy to follow. It is a perfect complement to the immature jokes about almost all the characters in the film, resulting in constant and genuine laughs.

One of the only negative aspects of “Get Hard” is that, despite the entertainment value of the film’s plot, its storyline is straightforward and predictable. Throughout the duration of the film, it is clear there is a linear trajectory for the narrative that leads to an unfortunately unsurprising ending.

Despite its simple structure, “Get Hard” is ends up a success as a result of the crude humor from the Hart-Farrell duo and is significantly bolstered by the entertaining, light-hearted plot and fluid script.

“Get Hard” is rated R and is playing in theaters nationwide.