Kevin Hart: What Now? Review

R: For Some Sexual Material, and Language Throughout

Universal Pictures, Hartbeat Productions

1 Hr and 36 Minutes

Cast: Kevin Hart…Pretty much it. Oh yeah and Halle Berry, Don Cheadle, David Meunier, and Ed Helms in an opening skit

REVIEW: Kevin Hart. Kevin Hart. Everywhere I see now there’s Kevin Hart. See him on the bus. See him on the train. See him on my TV 24/7. When I was listening to Soundcloud recently while in the bathroom, an advertisement opened and I’m hearing him promoting his new season of Real Husbands in Hollywood along with Gary Owen for his Gary Owen Show. I can’t even shit without hearing Kevin Hart. The man has to be on my list of actors "I’ve been seeing too goddamn much" of because he’s been in 3 films this year alone all crossing over 100 million dollars in the box office. And now he’s due for a fourth film in the same year which goes back to the roots of his rise to fame, a concert stand up film of his last tour What Now? which became to be a record breaking comedy tour because no other comedian has ever both performed at arenas and sold out until Kevin Hart did. But not everyone got to see it so of course release a film of the performance. It worked for so many comedians in the past most notably Eddie Murphy and his film Raw (which record it broke at the time was the number of uses of the word fuck in a theatrical release). But now since What Now? is distributed by major movie studio Universal Pictures and was funded by Kevin Hart himself [as in the entire budget came out of his pocket] it is a film needed to be reviewed.   

Comedian Kevin Hart performs in front of a crowd of 50,000 people at Philadelphia's outdoor venue, Lincoln Financial Field.

THE GOOD: I never reviewed a standup concert film. I reviewed actual 3D concert films, but never a standup concert film. I’ve been reviewing films since 2010 and never had to review stand up comedy films. This is mainly because I watch these from the comfort of my own home usually with my father. So this begs the question how do you review a standup concert film? Well if your ass is near to cracking down to the floor of the theater with tears running through your eyes, migraine coming into your head, and chest about to explode then it’s good enough to recommend. I don’t know what else to tell you. This is a theatrical experience needed to be seen on the big screen. Something about watching this film in a theater makes you feel that you are in the Lincoln Financial Field watching Kevin Hart do what he does best which is making people laugh.

In the last Marlon Wayans parody piece of shit, Fifty Shades of Black there was a joke questioning how come Kevin Hart is in every movie role in Hollywood. Kevin Hart: What Now? is sheer proof of how creative, inventive, and genius the man is. As much as you’re tired of seeing Kevin Hart everywhere you go, it is no lie that he is funny. His humor pokes fun at his own family lifestyle and his experiences since Let Me Explain. That is what his humor always was and it its over exaggeratedly hilarious. Back in his old standup comedy films, Hart didn't have presentations and visuals to come out of his shows to help tell a story. As you see with the much more money he has, the much more money went into his show telling his stories through background visuals and animations which provides a much better detail in a scenario he's setting up. Even when he doesn't have to rely on the visuals and still express jokes through expressions and punchlines, he can still get you.

I’m not going to lie. This film had me (as the kids say) WEAK! I was near to dying watching this because I am a “visionist," where everything that is said to me in a scenario, I can immediately imagine it. So the majority of his stories that I’m envisioning in my head are funny as hell that you could relate to. Most of his stories are like situations from episodes of Family Guy where he is a black, rich, skinnier, and shorter Peter Griffin. 

THE BAD: As much Kevin Hart is funny, some of his running jokes are run into the ground. Granted he knows how to bring it back up to come full circle to get you especially when you’re already dying of laughter. It gets tiresome really quickly.

As many comedy standup films open, this opens up with a skit. A Tim Story (Think Like A Man and Ride Along films) directed Casino skit parodying James Bond with Halle Berry and Don Cheadle. It is funny at some moments but it’s a real chore to get through and it lasts for 10 minutes. It is really the standup show you’re in for and when it comes, it’s truly one of his best performances since Laugh at My Pain. 

LAST STATEMENT: Though it has a so-so engaging opening sequence that is rough to get through, Kevin Hart: What Now? is a hysterical standup concert film which reminds you no matter how sick you are of him, Kevin Hart is always bound to make you laugh.

Rating: 3.5/5 | 78%

Super Scene: Kevin’s “pocket” story