Kevin Hart: What Now?

Comedian Kevin Hart's career to date has been a mixed bag. He has made millions laugh with his stand-up act (in comedy clubs and on tour), on television and in the movies – sometimes as a supporting character and sometimes as the star – including, of course, his concert films featuring his stand-up. He has written and produced for TV and movies (mostly, but not exclusively, for himself). His comedy projects have consistently made handsome profits, but have received mixed reviews from critics and, in some cases, audiences. As someone who tries to maintain the balance between movie reviewer and Movie Fan, here's how I see Kevin Hart's effectiveness in some of his films: "Grudge Match", "The Wedding Ringer", "Get Hard" – funny. "Ride Along", "Ride Along 2", "Central Intelligence" – mildly amusing. His 2016 concert movie "Kevin Hart: What Now?" (R, 1:36) – not funny. Please, let me explain.

Kevin Hart's 2016 concert film opens with a significant, but irrelevant sequence in which he plays a James Bond type of character (opposite Halle Berry) and participates in a high-stakes poker game, a la Daniel Craig's first Bond outing, "Casino Royale". In this opener for Hart's film (basically a movie within a movie), production values are high and the acting is good (including cool cameos by Don Cheadle and others), but there are few laughs and the whole thing has almost nothing to do with what comes next.

After his spy adventure, Hart appears at a packed Lincoln Financial Field (home of the NFL's Eagles) in Philadelphia where he performs his usual type of stand-up routine – with some social and political commentary and a whole lot of stories and jokes based on his family life and other personal experiences – all infused with his signature brand of physical comedy. Most of his jokes come from how ridiculous he thinks the members of his family are – and what people would be like if they were deprived of various parts of their body (e.g. arms and legs, shoulders, etc.) due to a variety of extraordinary mishaps.

Of course, this being a comedy concert film, there are plenty of shots of people in the crowd laughing at Hart's antics and repeating some of the lines he uses. He performs with nothing but a mic and a stool, but is backed up by large video screens with images illustrating some of the stories he tells. Then, at the end of his routine, there's a brief scene in which Hart picks up where he left off with Halle Berry and seems to be teasing a future project – basically answering the question posed in his concert film's title.

The movie commits the greatest possible sin of a comedy concert film – not being very funny. The laughs from Hart's live audience were seldom echoed in the crowded theater where I saw the movie. No wonder. Comedy usually plays better in person than on a screen – and people are more primed to enjoy comedy the more time and money they spend to see it (as in, the cost of a live show that you went to in a large venue, versus a cheaper ticket in a comparatively small movie theater), but the main problem with this film is the comedy itself. Hart talks at length about far-fetched situations that are more bizarre than funny. He also refers to his family members (father, children and fiancé) in ways that are more disrespectful than humorous. What's more, much like in his movies, Hart relies too much on his over-the-top facial expressions for laughs. Occasionally entertaining, but rarely laugh-out-loud funny, "Kevin Hart: What Now?" gets a "C-".

The intro sequence for the "Kevin Hart: What Now?" stand-up comedy show was actually the best thing about the entire show.

Why is that?

Well, because Kevin Hart wasn't really overly funny during the stand-up routine. Sure, there were a laugh to be had here and there, but it just wasn't an all together funny show from start to end.

Some of the jokes were just dragged on for far too long, which sort of killed off the momentum and the joke itself.

Kevin Hart does, however, look to be very natural on the stage. I had expected more than what this turned out to be, to be honest. And with having watched this 2016 stand-up show, then I am hardly inspired to go watch any of his other shows.

I'm glad that this is Kevin Hart's last stand-up.. because it was downright awful. He uses the same formula as his last 4 stand ups. Stories about his family, relationships, and lots of screaming. It's more similar in style than Infinity Warfare is to Black Ops 3. But that's not even why it's bad..

The jokes just weren't funny. Toilet humor, some sex toy jokes, and other cringey jokes. Some of the jokes that were decent was so drawn out that it became very awkward. Even the faces from the fans looked like they were trying hard just to chuckle at his jokes. Literally his last joke at the end was the only one that made me laugh.

I really didn't want to be believe the prior reviews, but this stand-up is hands down his worse and I think a 3/10 is a very accurate rating considering he is one of the the best selling comedians of the decade.

Just to let you know, I am still a Kevin Hart fan. I've watched his last 4 stand-ups at least 3 times each. But this did not even come close to expectations. I would not pay $5 or $10 for this. I would watch it online for free. If you are looking for something funny and new I would watch Chris Tucker's "Live" on Netflix. It has authentic humor and only gets better each time you watch it. (I'm actually re-watching it right now as I write this) I also logged in just to write this review. My first log-in in 5 years. (Surprised I still knew my password)

Kevin Hart: What Now is a really funny comedy special that's padded to feature length by some unwanted scripted sketches which bookend it. Halle Berry is always a welcome presence who exudes grace effortlessly and Don Cheadle is having fun but these scenes are undoubtedly filler. However, there's still a few good jokes in these bits thanks to a scene parodying The Equalizer and a neat gag involving subtitles.

The special itself is actually more than funny enough to sustain its run time. The material can get surprisingly personal when he talks about his greatest shame surrounding his sex life and the best moments come from the stories that sound unreal. He returns to some of his biggest punchlines a bit too much in this one but those bits work more often than they don't and the backdrops changing to match his jokes works with them.

I love stand-up specials. I've loved Kevin Hart's stand-up specials so far, even though I have never found his "preshow" and "aftershow" sketches funny at all. He has some again and I gotta tell you, this was so incredibly boring, I barely remember what was it all about. When finally the show started, I got excited - this is where Kevin is powerful. He has a full stadium (!), a great stage, everything looks perfectly prepared. Then, 20 minutes after the start of the show, I realized I haven't even smiled once. I almost forgot I'm not alone in the theater because it was really, REALLY silent. Even the black people next to me were absolutely quiet and were shrugging at the "jokes" - and black people not laughing is a very sad thing for every black comedian.

His jokes were actually stories. 5-minute stories that started from nothing and went nowhere. After an incredibly unfunny 5-minute joke about a woman missing a shoulder, the first 4 people left the theater. And not because it was a dark joke - but because it wasn't funny at all. Kevin was yelling on his golden mic, making poses, yelling again, but was just as funny as a circus clown and that was kinda sad.

Kevin Hart has obviously lost his touch with reality and the money he made got to his head. He was performing as the greatest comedian ever, while he was not even average. If he started out with jokes like these, he'd be getting booed off the stage in 3 minutes.

I have left a theater prematurely only twice in my entire life and this was the third time. It was unbearable. I might download this from somewhere when it comes to DVD just to see how it ends but I ain't paying more for it. Better go to your local comedy club and see an open mic. Most of them will have way better jokes, for sure.