Latest news with #GetHard
Yahoo
14-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Netflix adds Will Ferrell's most controversial movie
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Cast your mind back ten years. It's 2015, and franchises rule. Mad Max: Fury Road, Avengers: Age Of Ultron, and Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation are battling it out for box office supremacy. Sicario, Carol, and The Martian are on numerous "best films of the year" lists, but comedies are out in the cold. Yet, although it wasn't a vintage year, some of their biggest names were out in force — Melissa McCarthy, Seth MacFarlane and, perhaps busiest of all, Will Ferrell. One of his releases from that year — and his most controversial film ever – has just arrived on Netflix today [Monday, June 9]. It's Get Hard. He plays an obscenely rich hedge-fund manager who finds himself convicted of fraud and sentenced to a stretch in San Quentin. With just one month to get his affairs in order and, knowing that his chances of surviving longer than a few minutes behind bars are slim to nothing, he turns to a stranger he believes is an ex-con and can teach him the art of survival. Played by Kevin Hart, he's actually a car wash manager who has never even received a parking ticket and has his work cut out in devising a training regime to keep predatory prisoners at bay. As the tests become increasingly gruelling (to say the least), the two learn they've been wrong about many things and that their assumptions about each other are at the top of the list. With its racial, sexist and homophobic jokes, the film was labelled politically incorrect to the extent that its director, Etan Cohen, and its stars had to speak out in its defence. Audiences gave it a mixed response, both laughing and cringing at what was, at times, surprisingly strong stuff, and the film is probably Ferrell's raunchiest work to date — even closer to the mark than the much-loved Step Brothers (2008). Best movies on Netflix But there's another side to it. While it might look crude on the surface, there's an element of satire just beneath which is aimed directly at the assumptions that feed so many social attitudes. There's no doubt that it's offensive, but in a way that echoes a boundary pushing comedy from the mid-70s — Blazing Saddles (1974). The older film is a classic, Get Hard less so, but it still has plenty of laughs and much of that is down to the Ferrell/Hart pairing, which is where it really scored on its release and still does now. Both actors are naturals when it comes to working as part of a double act. Here, they play on their best-known characteristics — Hart's fast-talking street smarts and Ferrell's naïvete and fumbling attempts to appear more confident — to create the humor and ultimately show their characters' individual strengths. In more recent years, Hart's partnerships with Dwayne Johnson in Central Intelligence and the Jumanji franchise have proved particularly successful. For Ferrell, however, a co-star is essential to his collaborative way of working, both in front and behind the camera. As an actor, he thrives on sharing the limelight either as part of a double act or in a small ensemble, most notably in the Anchorman movies. While he doesn't have a regular on-screen comedy partner, there are a handful he returns to, John C Reilly especially, and there's a good reason. In Step Brothers, their second film together, their juvenile 40-somethings forced into being siblings were uniquely special, and it was all down to their personal chemistry. Sadly, even their combined magic couldn't make Holmes And Watson (2018) live up to everybody's expectations. His roster of female co-stars is equally impressive — Tina Fey, Reese Witherspoon, Amy Poehler, Christina Applegate — and last year saw him carry this collaborative style to a documentary, the much-praised Will And Harper. Ferrell also produced this moving portrait of his friendship with writer Harper Steele, his first documentary behind the camera and easily his most personal project to date. Before then, he'd worked with director/writer Adam McKay on upwards of 30 titles, often acting in them as well, and since they ended their working partnership in 2019, Ferrell has continued producing, with Apple TV Plus's Dickens-inspired Spirited (2022) proving to be a festive favourite and Netflix's Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga (2020) now about to return, but as a stage musical. He and Steele wrote the original movie and are set to repeat their double act for this latest incarnation. The film was a feel-good piece of entertainment, yet its most familiar song probably wouldn't have been out of place in Get Hard. Yes, we mean "Jaja Ding Dong"! Get Hard is on Netflix in the US and UK now. Eurovision Song Contest: The Story Of Fire Saga is on Netflix in the US and the UK.
New Indian Express
28-04-2025
- Entertainment
- New Indian Express
Kevin Hart's comedy show in India cancelled following Pahalgam attack
LOS ANGELES: American actor-comedian Kevin Hart, who was scheduled to tour India for his comedy special 'Acting My Age', has cancelled the show in the wake of the in solidarity with those affected. Hart, known for films such as 'Get Hard', 'The Wedding Ringer', and 'Ride Along' films, was set to perform on April 30 in Delhi, marking his first show in the country. Show organisers District By Zomato in a statement shared on its official Instagram page on Sunday said: "Important update: In light of the recent tragic events, we, along with Kevin Hart's team, have decided to cancel the upcoming Delhi show scheduled for April 30th. We are working closely with Kevin Hart's team on a new schedule and will share updates soon. While we were looking forward to gathering with all of you, we believe it's important to pause and stand in solidarity with those affected," read the caption of the post. District By Zomato further said that full refunds will be issued automatically, The terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam last Tuesday killed 26 people, mostly tourists. Besides Hart, singers Arijit Singh, Shreya Ghoshal, AP Dhillon, and Papon also rescheduled their respective live events following the Pahalgam strike.
Deccan Herald
28-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Deccan Herald
Kevin Hart's comedy show in India cancelled following Pahalgam attack
Hart, known for films such as Get Hard, The Wedding Ringer, and Ride Along films, was set to perform on April 30 in Delhi, marking his first show in the country.
Time of India
28-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Kevin Hart cancels India show amid Pahalgam terror attack
American actor-comedian Kevin Hart has cancelled his India tour for the comedy special "Acting My Age" following the Pahalgam terror attack , showing his support for those affected. Known for films like Get Hard, The Wedding Ringer, and the Ride Along series, Hart was scheduled to perform his first show in India on April 30 in Delhi. Update The organizers, District By Zomato, shared a statement on their official Instagram page on Sunday, saying, saying:"Important update: In light of the recent tragic events, we, along with Kevin Hart's team, have decided to cancel the upcoming Delhi show scheduled for April 30th... We are working closely with Kevin Hart's team on a new schedule and will share updates soon." "While we were looking forward to gathering with all of you, we believe it's important to pause and stand in solidarity with those affected," read the caption of the post. Pahalgam attack The tragic terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir , on April 22, 2025, claimed the lives of 26 people, including 25 Indian nationals and one from Nepal. Following the incident, several major artists canceled or postponed their events as a mark of respect and solidarity. Apart from Kevin Hart, several Indian singers also rescheduled their events in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack. Shreya Ghoshal canceled her Surat concert scheduled for April 26, assuring full refunds to ticket holders. Arijit Singh postponed his upcoming performances, while AP Dhillon delayed the release of his upcoming project. Papon, too, canceled his shows, expressing his grief over the tragic loss of lives in the attack. 'Kevin Hart & Chris Rock: Headliners Only' Trailer: Kevin Hart and Chris Rock starrer 'Kevin Hart & Chris Rock: Headliners Only' Official Trailer
Yahoo
10-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Was the Fifty Shades of Grey movie really that bad?
Like most cultural phenomena, you've probably almost forgotten about Fifty Shades of Grey. But this week marks 10 years since the first book in EL James's trilogy of what convention dictates we must call "bonkbusters" made it to the big screen. With Dakota Johnson as Anastasia Steele and Jamie Dornan as the mysterious millionaire Christian Grey, the movie made $570m (£459m) worldwide. But despite this success, Fifty Shades of Grey became something of a punching bag. The books fit squarely into what tedious people tend to call "guilty pleasures" — you should never be guilty about enjoying something — and it's fair to say that James, for all of her great qualities, is not exactly Shakespeare or Wordsworth. As a result, it became very easy indeed to bash the Fifty Shades of Grey world on the page and then, subsequently, on the screen. The film won five awards, including Worst Picture, at the Razzies in 2016 and its current approval rating among critics on Rotten Tomatoes is just 25%. All of that suggests this was one of the worst movies of the 2010s. But that's too simple. Fifty Shades of Grey is no masterpiece, but it's far from being the worst film of the decade. It's not even close to being the worst movie released in 2015 — a year that gave us Get Hard, Entourage, Mortdecai, The Cobbler, and of course Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2. Put simply, Fifty Shades was just the worst film that most people had heard of. Read more: Fifty Shades Of Grey author EL James says films' release was 'traumatic time' (PA Media, 2 min read) Actually, though, it's time to give a lot of credit to Fifty Shades of Grey. Unlike the book on which it is based, the film has a self-referential silliness and playfulness at its heart that undercuts some of the self-serious storytelling deployed by James. While some of the author's worst dialogue — "I'm 50 shades of f***ed up", "my tastes are very singular", etc — made its way into Kelly Marcel's script, there were some fun additions. The highlight of the movie, without doubt, is the scene in which Ana and Christian engage in a boardroom negotiation over the terms of the contract dictating the rules of their relationship and the limitations around what Ana was willing to allow Christian to do. It's a genuinely funny scene specifically penned for the film, amalgamating several similar segments of the book. Never has the phrase "genital clamps" been discussed in such delightful deadpan. This sequence perfectly illustrates the tension between the EL James take on Fifty Shades of Grey and the version put forward by Marcel and director Sam Taylor-Johnson. It's one of the key reasons why the first movie works much better than the two sequels, which appear to hew closer to James's vision for the series. While James seems to think of Fifty Shades as high art, Marcel and Taylor-Johnson were prepared to relax and have a bit of fun with it. It's silly escapist fluff and the film had the courage to treat it like that. Read more: Fifty Shades Of Grey: What Changed From Book to Screen? (Yahoo Entertainment) Johnson's performance embodies this sense of fun. She brings a luminous snark to Ana, which couldn't be more different from the cringeworthy "oh my" character James wrote, constantly telling the reader about her "inner goddess". Johnson told Vanity Fair that the author wielded a lot of creative control on the set and "just demanded that certain things happen". 'I signed up to do a very different version of the film we ended up making," said Johnson. "We'd do the takes of the movie that [James] wanted to make, and then we would do the takes of the movie that we wanted to make. The night before, I would rewrite scenes with the old dialogue so I could add a line here and there. It was like mayhem all the time." It's probably too simplistic to suggest that everything bad about the Fifty Shades movie came from James, but it's certainly at its strongest when it deviates from her vision. Few people would argue that Fifty Shades of Grey is a good movie — it isn't — but it's a truly heroic attempt to polish a literary turd into a slice of escapist fun at the multiplex. Read more: Jamie Dornan knew critics would 'despise' the Fifty Shades of Grey films (The Independent, 3 min read) Fifty Shades of Grey was the most unique of phenomena — a book everybody had read, without anybody earnestly believing it was good. Against the backdrop of those bizarre circumstances, it's a minor miracle that the film adaptation isn't a complete disaster. We'll always have the genital clamps. Fifty Shades of Grey is available to stream in the UK via Netflix.
