About Last Night

Bernie (Kevin Hart) tells his best friend Danny (Michael Ealy) about last night with Joan (Regina Hall). She's also telling her roommate Debbie (Joy Bryant). They go out on a double date. Bernie and Joan are the wild ones. Danny and Debbie are jaded from all the bad relationships. They hook up anyways and despite reservations, they fall into a relationship.

Kevin Hart and Regina Hall are hilarious together. Michael Ealy and Joy Bryant are a bit bland together. Their romance is rather boring. So the movie is half good. It's lot of fun to have Hart and Hall have their all out fights. I just wish that Ealy has some more energy to pump up his relationship. The sidekicks are better than the leads.

The only reason I watched this film was, I'll admit, because of Kevin Hart. I really liked him in Ride Along, and wanted to see him on the screen again and was interested in seeing him in an ensemble type movie such as this was. Well, I just finished watching this film at the theater and this is what I'll say; it was a funny film for sure, Hart was funny as expected and he was coupled up with the extremely hilarious as well, Regina Hall. Together they were comedy gold and an extreme delight to watch. This film isn't just about humility though, it has a dramatic, serious side shown through the relationship of Michael Ealy & Joy Bryant, who I love on the NBC television show Parenthood. Both of these Actors were great to see as well, and from their story I found myself thinking about my own past relationships and how they all turned out. So defiantly a more relatable experience for sure. With all that said, I don't believe this film added anything new to this type of film genre, but that doesn't make it bad, just that it was entertaining and easily forgettable. I recommend renting this if you have to see it. Cheers!

I generally do not enjoy remakes, especially if it is a remake of a movie that was done right the first time. In my opinion if something is done right, why do it a second time? Do you make dinner, take a bite, bask in its deliciousness, then make another dinner? I don't know about you, but I sure do not. Anyway, I digress. 'About Last Night' which is a remake of a 1986 movie of the same name is one of the handful of exceptions to my remake indifference, and a pretty entertaining movie.

Anyone who is a fan of Kevin Hart will appreciate his acting in this movie, one because he doesn't seem to be acting at all, and two, he won't shut up…but honestly, I wouldn't have it any other way. The dialogue in the movie is definitely its strength. Aside from the four main characters I was pretty indifferent to the rest of the cast, excluding some minor moments with Joe Lo Truglio (Wet Hot American Summer) and Christopher McDonald (Shooter!). Each couple is unique in their own way, one cute and passionate, the other well…angry and sex obsessed, but they both work for different reasons.

The main focus of the movie is making that leap from a one night stand to a relationship. It's 2014, just because two people are having sex, it does not make them a couple. So how do you know when a one night stand reaches fu..uh fun buddy status, or if you are in a relationship? It is all mental. To be in a relationship you have to be mentally ready to commit to someone else, which is what the couples in the movie struggle with for an hour and forty minutes. Does it become predictable? Of course it does, there are no new themes in writing, but did I get bored? No. I think that a good romantic comedy keeps your attention even though it is evident what will happen in the movie. In 'Romeo and Juliet' Shakespeare tells us what is going to happen on the first page, but we keep reading, and I assure you that movies are no different than books.

So what do we have here? Nothing but another unnecessary remake of an '80s film. This time it's "About Last Night," the romantic drama starring Demi Moore and Rob Lowe, which was itself based on the highly acclaimed play by David Mamet, provocatively entitled "Sexual Perversity in Chicago." In this version, it's Joy Brand and Michael Ealy who play the young urban couple who meet, fall in love, move in together, then begin to have doubts about the efficacy and durability of their relationship.

Brand and Ealy are appealing and attractive performers, and both have done fine work on TV, Brand in "Parenthood" and Ealy in "Almost Human." But here they have been let down by screenwriter Leslye Headland, who proves herself incapable of getting past all the timeworn tropes and clichés that have become so much a part of the romantic comedy genre. The movie becomes just another men-are-from-Mars/women-are-from-Venus- type scenario, filled with girl-talk and guy-talk and all the predictable sturm und drang soul-baring and commitment issues (mainly on the part of the man, of course) that such narratives are prone to. Too often the things pulling the couple apart feel scripted and manufactured rather than organic and real. Under the slick but lackluster direction of Steve Pink, everyone just seems to be going through the motions, without any real passion or conviction.

The movie also comes replete with the requisite smart-aleck, comic- relief couple (well-played by Kevin Hart and Regina Hall) to serve as a foil for the one on center-stage. Yet, even the humor tends to aim low when it should be aiming high.

I like the way the story hits the re-set button in the final scene, but by then it's a case of too little too late and we've already moved onto the next movie.

About Last Night is a very unique romantic comedy. And for a genre that's practically built around clichés, that's really saying something. It intertwines the romance and the comedy from different angles by showing two couples, both with polar opposite relationship dynamics. There are essentially four leads in this movie and they're all excellent, especially Hart and Hall. They're an absolute riot together. You can tell some of the stuff is improvised and they bounce off each other incredibly well, and you actually believe that these characters can fall in love.

The "normal" couple has the more romantic story, and sadly they're not nearly as fun as the crazy couple, but that's kind of the point. There are some heartfelt moments in there, and the witty writing helps a lot. Some plot lines in the movie are predictable, some are filler, but the movie as a whole is diverse and totally engaging. It's structured in a way that it jumps from season to season, showing the peaks and valleys of the two relationships and how the friendships between all four characters are affected by it. There is seldom a dull moment in About Last Night, and you can't say that about many romcoms.

What elevates this movie in particular, though, is Kevin Hart. He's absolutely hysterical. I would watch a full two hour movie of just his character, he's that good. This is more proof that Hart is a comedy genius (and this is coming from someone who doesn't care much for his standup); he just needs the right vehicle to showcase it completely. Here, he just isn't in it enough. I mean, he's in it a lot, but he's just so damn good you can't get enough. His chemistry with everyone is great, and it doesn't even feel like he's acting. Not to say the other actors aren't as good - they're great - but Hart (and his relationship with Hall) basically steals the movie.

About Last Night isn't the be all end all of romantic comedies, but it's different enough to separate it from the pack. It handles both the romance and the comedy with finesse (and plenty of vulgarity), and it features Kevin Hart unleashed. If you're a fan of his, this is a must-watch.