Film in Review - Get Hard (2015)

*Starring Will Ferrell and Kevin Hart | Directed by Etan Cohen

The film, Get Hard, employs witty dialogue, good cinematography and an array of stock characters that are built up and given depth from 21st century racial stereotypes in a manner that, in some ways, exposes the ignorance of those who treat stereotypes as being the absolute truth.

An engaging start to the film is produced through the use of prolepsis of the non-linear narrative, showing James King (Will Ferrell) crying in an excessive manner following his sentence to prison. This style of narrative promotes key questions (Why?, When?, Where?, How? and Who?) about the character and his situation which immerses the audience into the plot, an effect that may not have been as easily achieved if the film was edited into a chronological order. Furthermore the use of timestamps that overlay the film are not obtrusive and are designed to fit seamlessly with the mood of the film as well as in a way that allows the audience to remain informed with our position in time relative to the film and also not lose focus on the plot itself. 

The two actors, Ferrell and Hart, produced a believable pair of protagonists each playing to the other's strengths and weaknesses giving a strong cast to the film, the pair created characters that seemed already pre-established in the film world giving a convincing performance. King's genuine ignorance and Darnell's (Hart's) false confidence and bravado allow the viewer to experience comic relief aside from the main plot of betrayal and crime which could have negative consequences for both characters. 

Finally the ending, despite being cliché, is filled with amusing fights and character development that truly lives up to the Greek's visions of comedy as "following the rise of a sympathetic hero". The twist in the tale and the comic relief following the film's denouement combined with the film's plot that never fails to amuse audiences definitely has produced a film that is highly recommendable to any comedy-action film fan.