Heaven help me, I think Get Hard is criminally funny. For the record, I had to drag myself to go see it, because it didn’t exactly sound like my type of film–the premise seemed brutal, and the title sounded crude. Still, I thought it just might have a slim chance of being amusing if the chemistry sparked between Will Ferrell and Kevin Hart. With the right material, those two can be a couple of the funniest guys working.

And sure enough, the material and the chemistry won the day. I’m not going to lie to you: it’s as naughty as it gets, so if you can’t laugh at sex jokes both hetero and homo, race jokes and junk jokes, you’re better off avoiding Get Hard. But if you don’t take yourself or your movies too seriously, get ready for a raucous diversion.

I think it’s Ferrell’s performance that really gets me. He plays James King, a hapless trader who gets sentenced to prison for something he says he didn’t do. His childish naiveté and innocence make me think of Buddy the Elf of Wall Street. When paired with Hart, whose character Darnell is supposed to be the thug that prepares Ferrell for doing hard time, it becomes a buddy comedy that works. The difference in the size of the actors is played up like a good Laurel and Hardy routine.

It shouldn’t have come as a surprise to me the that the director, Etan Cohen, was also a writer on one of my favorite funny/offensive comedies of all time, Tropic Thunder, as well as Idiocracy, which wasn’t well made, but had its unforgettable moments and messages. Get Hard is his first long format directing gig, and, no matter what some other critics say, I think he shows promise. And I think Hart and Ferrell should team up again in the future.

But my taste in comedy is a bit out there. Remember, I also liked The Interview.

Rated R

1 Hour 40 Minutes

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GET HARD Review