Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain

Posted on July 6, 2013 at 3:28 pm

Kevin Hart’s new stand-up movie is short (about 75 minutes). And, as he will repeatedly remind you, so is he.

There’s a brief prologue where guests at a rooftop party accuse him of not being in touch with his father, having sex only with light-skinned women, and both being only locally famous and being so successful that he is no longer real. Furious, he tells his manager to get him to the Garden immediately. “The Olive Garden?” the man responds. No, Madison Square Garden! Kevin Hart has some things he wants to get off his chest. Let him explain!

Like all great stand-up comics, Hart is a master of timing and can make all of the roles in a story with a slight but astonishingly vivid shift in his face, voice, and posture. Like Dane Cook and Tyler Perry, Hart is a master of viral marketing and branding. Under the radar of the Hollywood machine, he has become the top touring stand-up, as he takes pains to show us with a global montage of venues, many enormous and all sold out. He may be able to stand on a street corner and plaintively explain that no one there seems to know who he is. But his millions of YouTube followers are devoted fans, and when he shows up, whether it’s London, Amsterdam, or Oslo, they are there.

And then it’s New York, and the Garden. He is excited to be there, and he brings the fire. Literally. He thought it was cool when Jay-Z and Kanye had fire on stage, so he gets some big fire and has it flame on every now and then to punctuate a punch-line — or just to be a punch-line, as we enjoy his enjoyment of the pretentiousness and pointlessness (but coolness) of fire on stage.

Stand-up is the toughest job in the performing arts. It’s you and the microphone. No script, no other performer to cue or toss to, no hit song to get the audience applauding after just one chord. It’s 30,000 people and you and your stories.

In this case, the stories are mainly in the “b****es be crazy” category. He begins by telling us he is happily divorced, which is great because he can do things like feed the pigeons without anyone suspecting he is a liar. Then he tells us he is a liar, but seems to think it is irrational for a woman to find that upsetting. Women, on the other hand, are not under any circumstances allowed to cheat. And friends — they are there to back you up, and when you begin the phone call with “Don’t lie,” that means, well: “LIE.”

Unlike the all-time greats, Chris Rock, George Carlin, and even Bill Cosby, Hart never goes past the “funny thing happened to me” line of comedy, which is entertaining enough, in large part because he sees his flaws. But you get the sense, especially in story about his son and a final comment about how much it means to him to be there, that there’s more to him. Now that he’s explained, maybe the next tour can be, “No Longer Safe.”

Parents should know that this movie is filled with profanity, n-words, and crude sexual references.

Family discussion: How do Hart’s expectations for the women in his life differ from what he expects from himself? Did he make the right decision in the story about his son? What do we learn about him from the opening scene?

If you like this, try: Hart’s “Laugh at My Pain” and the stand-up comedy of Chris Rock and Richard Pryor

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Comedy Documentary

The Way Way Back

Posted on July 5, 2013 at 9:12 pm

B+

Lowest Recommended Age:	High School
MPAA Rating:	Rated PG-13 for thematic elements, language, some sexual content, and brief drug material
Profanity:	Some strong language
Alcohol/ Drugs:	Drinking and drunkenness, drug reference
Violence/ Scariness:	Emotional confrontations
Diversity Issues:	Insensitive treatment of a person with a disability
Date Released to Theaters:	July 5, 2013
Date Released to DVD:	October 21, 2013
Amazon.com ASIN:	B00DL46ZN8

Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, Oscar winners for the screenplay of “The Descendants,” have written, produced, and directed an endearing coming-of-age story called “The Way Way Back,” appearing in it as well. At times it seems there have been as many movies of the summer that changed some adolescent’s life as there have been adolescents to face the daunting challenges of growing up. It is a daunting challenge, as well, to make this story fresh and meaningful, but Faxon, Rash, and their exceptionally capable cast have managed, with a story that is specific enough to feel new but universal enough to hit home.

Liam James plays Duncan, who gives the movie’s title its double resonance as we first see him, facing the back window of an old station wagon driven by his mother’s new boyfriend, riding in the “way back.” We can feel everything he knows, everything that feels like home and welcome and normal to him receding into the distance. He’s looking back.

Trent (Steve Carell), the boyfriend, in the driver’s seat, is looking back, too. He is sizing Duncan up in a primal urge to establish Duncan’s mother, Pam (Toni Collette), as his territory. We see his eyes in the rear view mirror. The tone is friendly, avuncular, even paternal but the words are devastating. He asks Duncan how it rates himself on a scale of one to ten. When Duncan ventures a six, Trent tells him he’s a three. And he expects Duncan to use his time at the beach house to “get that score up.”

Duncan is in teen hell. And his mother’s happiness makes him feel at the same time happy for her and fury and isolation at her inability to see that Trent is a bully and a liar.

Then one day Duncan wanders off and finds a water park called Water Wizz, where he meets an amiable slacker of a manager named Owen (Sam Rockwell). Soon, he is working there. He’s found his home.

It would be so easy to mess this up. Trent could be a caricature. Owen could be idealized. But Faxon and Rash wisely let us understand that we are seeing both of them in slightly exaggerated form through Duncan’s eyes. We know that Trent is not as bad nor Owen as good as Duncan thinks they are. Duncan sees Trent as a liar and a cheat, but does not see him struggle to deserve a woman like Pam. Duncan sees Owen as a courageous free spirit. Owen loves being seen that way, but he knows and we know that he is irresponsible and ashamed of his life. Faxon and Rash, who contribute their own performances of wit and heart, make the movie a safe place for us as Water Wizz is for Duncan.

Parents should know that this film includes drinking, smoking, strong language, drug use, sexual references, infidelity, and bullying.

Family discussion: What did Pam and Trent see in each other? How do the various children and teens in this story respond when they cannot find support and understanding at home? What other stories are examples of this?

If you like this, try: “Little Miss Sunshine” and “Adventureland” (both rated R)

Despicable Me 2

Posted on July 3, 2013 at 10:00 am

Is there more to the story of “Despicable Me” after Gru (Steve Carell) isn’t despicable anymore? The original, with Gru and Vector (Jason Segal) as warring super-villains, was one of the best animated films and one of the best family movies of the past several years. The characters, brilliantly designed by illustration great Carter Goodrich, were a magnificent contrast, Gru all musty gothic and Victorian, with heavy carved wood and hammered metal and Vector all sleek and mid-century Creamsicle colors. The happy ending had Gru’s heart warming to three adorable orphan girls and saving the day.

With all of that resolved, this movie never quite reaches the emotional resonance of the first, and this edition’s villain (I will try not to give away any surprises that occur after the first third of the film) is not as interesting as Vector, visually or in terms of plot or character.

But it is still wonderfully imaginative and fun, with a masterful use of 3D and breathtaking, precision-timed, action sequences that are both exciting and hilarious. And there are minions.

The adorable yellow creatures who appear to be made from marshmallow peeps and serve as Gru’s version of ooompa-loompas are even more effective scene-stealers than they were in the first outing, whether wearing a fetching maid uniform, reacting to the taste of a very bad batch of jelly, or suffering the effects of a transforming serum called PX41. Watch the end credits — they appear to be poised to take over the next chapter.

There are some new characters in this sequel, too, most delightfully Lucy, an agent for the Anti-Villain League who recruits Gru to help her save the world. She is charmingly voiced by Kristin Wiig (a different accent and a different character from the orphanage director she played in the first movie), and deliciously drawn, with Lucille Ball-red hair and a fearless but charmingly dorky personality. A local mom keeps trying to fix Gru up with her single friends and the girls want him to try a computer matchmaker. But it is Lucy who makes him consider for the first time getting over the childhood trauma that made him decide that romance was beyond his ability. Lucy is adorkable, both coltish and rubber-limbed, cheerily explaining to Gru that he should not announce his weapon until after he uses it, and then demonstrating by singing out “lipstick taser!” as he seizes and jerks on the ground.

Meanwhile, there is a new super-villain to track down. The Anti-Villain League has traced him or her to the local mall (witty and imaginatively conceived). So Gru and Lucy go undercover with a cupcake shop called Bake My Day and try to figure out which of the local merchants has the PX41. This is much more exciting than trying to make an honest living manufacturing jams and jellies, especially after the departure of his long-time aide, Dr. Nefario (Russell Brand), who leaves for evil-er pastures.

In the midst of all this, Gru still has his parental responsibilities, including some worries over oldest daughter Margo (Miranda Cosgrove), who has spotted a cute boy named Antonio (“Kings of Summer’s” Moises Arias), who has Beiberific hair and all the charm of a future Latin lover.

A chase scene that has the minions trying to protect Gru is one of the best action sequences of the year and Gru’s entry into the super-villain’s lair is cleverly designed. It is fun to see Gru try to manage a 6-year-old’s birthday party (like Steve Martin in “Parenthood,” he has to step in as the entertainment) while redefining himself as a man the girls can trust and respect. It isn’t the villain who’s his match this time, it’s his partner in non-crime. While not as liberatingly refreshing as the original, it is still a blast and one of the best family films of the year.

Parents should know that this film has several instances of potty humor and some violence and peril (mostly comic but with weapons and drug-induced personality transformations). There’s a brief shot of a bare minion tush and a joke about being drunk.

Family discussion: Why was it hard for Gru to tell Lucy how he felt? What “despicable” qualities did Gru have that helped him be a better good guy?

If you like this, try: “Despicable Me” and “Megamind”

Interview: Jeff Allen of “Apostles of Comedy: Onwards and Upwards”

Posted on July 1, 2013 at 8:13 am

The very funny Jeff Allen answered my questions about his new DVD, Apostles of Comedy: Onwards & Upwards.

When did you first know you were funny?

I thought I was funny when I started stand up comedy in Chicago; the audience thought differently. My first big laugh came when I started screaming about my junky VW bug. That’s when I knew I could make people laugh at a club.

Did being funny get you in or out of trouble?

Yeah, you learn quick as a young man, you are either a fighter or a talker. I was a talker and a smart aleck. My mouth got me in all kinds of trouble until I got my timing down.

Do audiences respond differently in different parts of the country?

Earlier in my career I found that to be true. But now, I have kind of honed in on marriage and kids, they aren’t much different universally, so it is pretty consistent now wherever I go.

What’s the toughest part of being on the road and the best part?

The toughest is the travel and being away from my friends and family, the best part is the people I get to meet as well as some of the golf courses I get to play that I never would have, had I not traveled there.

What’s the best advice you ever got about doing stand up?

Someone told me to take care of the only thing I have control over and everything else will take care of itself. The only thing I have control over is my act, what I say.

What or who makes you laugh?

Slapstick in movies and (comedian) Brian Regan in stand up.

What kind of welcome do you get from Christian audiences?

They seem to like me, have you heard otherwise?

Why can we hear truth through comedy that we don’t in other ways?

Most times when people talk about truth it comes off as preaching, most people don’t like to be preached to and put up walls. Comedy knocks those walls down and it opens people’s ears up and they hear a little better.

How do you make the frustrating or scary aspects of every day life funny?

It’s just how I process life, when I am stressed all the people around me suffer. So rather than put them through the ringer, I will try to make a joke about it and it is like a release valve. I learned this early in life. It helped me survive growing up.

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Comedy Interview

The Heat

Posted on June 30, 2013 at 10:33 pm

Lowest Recommended Age:	Mature High Schooler
Profanity:	Constant strong and crude language, use of bad language as an expression of freedom
Alcohol/ Drugs:	Drinking, drunkenness (as an expression of freedom), scenes in bars, drug dealing and some drug use
Violence/ Scariness:	Law enforcement violence, chases, explosions, murder, torture, characters in peril, injured, and killed
Diversity Issues:	A theme of the movie, but a number of insults of a character with albinism
Date Released to Theaters:	June 28, 2013
Date Released to DVD:	October 14, 2013
Amazon.com ASIN:	B00BEIYJ8G

By my count, I have seen some sixty jillion buddy cop movies, and they follow a format as rigid as a sonnet. One cop is by-the-book. One is free-wheeling and impulsive. There is a frustrated superior officer. There is a scene in a nightclub. There is a bad guy with access to some inside information. One is catnip to the opposite sex; one is romantically challenged or solidly married. And our heroes, initially antagonistic, learn to respect, trust, and like each other. Some buddy cop movies have more comedy, some have more action. Some buddy cop movies are PG-13, some are R. There are always many wisecracks. Quite often, we get to meet the family of one or both. Sometimes the leads are white, sometimes they’re black, sometimes it is one of each. But all of them, all of them, all of them have one more thing in common. They’re both guys. Until now.

So thoroughly conforming to the conventions of the genre that the opening credits could have been lifted from a 70’s movie, “The Heat,” is not interested in breaking any new ground except for the considerable change of a gender switch. For the first time in decades, there is an action comedy with two female leads. It even passes the Bechdel rule. That is a major breakthrough. Everything else is, well, by the book.

Sandra Bullock, basically carrying over her “Miss Congeniality” role, is the by-the-book FBI agent named Ashburn. According to her supervisor, she has inspired “countless complaints of arrogance, competitiveness, and showmanship.” She is assigned to a new case and has to work with a tough, brash, impulsive, profane local cop named Mullins (Melissa McCarthy, basically carrying over her last three roles). “If you’re not in trouble, you’re not doing your job,” she explains. She also has an exasperated boss (Thomas F. Wilson, Biff the bully in “Back to the Future”).

Pretty soon they are battling over jurisdiction and getting caught as they both try to go through the doorway at the same time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0HWlvP1xdk

Cue the wisecracks. “What is this, ‘Training Day?'” asks Ashburn. And there are some bonding moments, including a makeover in a nightclub ladies’ room, a joint appreciation of an impressive arsenal, and a drunken dance to “Groove is in the Heart” by Deee-Lite with Lady Miss Kier. But it feels like putting women in the lead roles was such a stretch they did not want to take any other chances with the genre.

They visit Mullins’ family, who appear to be visiting from “The Fighter.” (Nice to see Jane Curtin, Nathan Corddry, and NKotB-er Joey McIntyre, though.) Her brother’s girlfriend has breasts so significant to the character they deserve their own credit. Wait, they do. The girlfriend, Gina, is played by Jessica Chaffin, and the credits helpfully note that Gina’s boobs are played by “Jessica Chaffin’s boobs.” So, not quite the step forward for gender equality we might have hoped. And the Yale-educated Ashburn’s acid critique of a bad guy’s poor grammar loses some of its punch when she immediately follows it with a sentence that begins, with “me and her.” Not quite the step forward for literacy, then, either.

Bullock and McCarthy are both terrifically appealing and talented actresses and they have such evident pleasure in playing these roles that they are fun to watch. Maybe next time, though, they could put some more effort into the script.

Parents should know that this movie has non-stop strong, profane, and crude language with sexual references (and strong language is an expression of being free), drinking and drunkenness (including drinking as an expression of being free and open-minded and drunkenness as humorous), law enforcement violence with shooting, stabbing and explosions, murder, characters injured and killed, dead bodies, and drug dealing.

Family discussion: How are Mullins and Ashburn different from each other? How are they similar? Who is right, Mullins or her family?

If you like this, try: “The Other Guys” and “48 Hours”