Kevin Hart: What Now? Blu-ray Review
Kevin Hart is one of the biggest, not best, stand-up comedians going right now. That’s evident by his movie. In KEVIN HART: WHAT NOW?, he packs out the Lincoln Financial Field. Nearly 70,000 Philadelphia Eagles fans fill out the stadium during the football season, but this time around, it’s thousands of screaming, hysterical fans of Hart’s comedy. Sure. Only 53,000 turned out, but when you think about it in comparison to Anthony Jeselnik barely filling out a theatre that holds 5,000, it’s impressive.
But like I said, Hart isn’t the best act out there. It’s easy to see why he’s such a popular act though. He has the 53,000 eating out of the palm of his hands for the majority of WHAT NOW? and he never seems to let the scale of it all get in the way of some physical humor and the facial expressions during one of his punch lines. That may be because he’s complimented by three monstrous screens that are trained on his face when they’re not providing visual effects to whatever tale he may be recounting.
As for his comedic work, fans know it’s a blend of observation, surrealism, and African-American viewpoints on sexuality, pop-culture and everyday life. The pint-sized comedian tells stories about his home life, his wife, his father, his kids and the silly incidents he finds himself in. Despite his unintimidating nature, it’s admirable for viewers to watch him talk like he’s six feet tall. The content isn’t very strong and even the die-hards in the crowd don’t seem to hang on his every word, bBut when he’s throwing out one of his memorable punch lines, the crowd says it along with him.
Before the hour-long stand-up is a filmed bit where Hart’s a spy. This is played as events before the Philadelphia performance. He plays Agent 0054 at a poker game, with the sultry Halle Berry wrapped around him. This is actually the funniest part of the movie, with Hart being directed and having others sharpen his wit and spastic charm. It also doesn’t hurt when you have Don Cheadle, Ed Helms and others chewing on the scenery and delivering some deadpan comedy.
As a whole, WHAT NOW? is a somewhat funny experience, but nothing memorable or outstanding that requires a repeated viewing. Back in college me and my friends used to watch Eddie Murphy’s DELIRIOUS or RAW on DVD after a couple of beers and howl with laughter. After college, when Netflix was introduced as a median for digital content, me and my friends would do the same with Louis C.K. or Bo Burnham. Now maybe it’s because I watched WHAT NOW? by myself, but it just doesn’t have that same bite or catchy quality that others comedians have had with their specials
I understand that Hart is a contemporary staple of American comedy and will most likely voice or star in future comedies for the foreseeable future, but there’s also signs of exhaustion. He seems to rest on long pauses and silences meant to punctuate a joke, but it feels more like burnout. If the funniest bit of WHAT NOW? is his scripted work with the help of a cast and crew, it may be time to take a break from the microphone. I can’t imagine he’s hurting for money.
BLU RAY REVIEW
Video: (1080p HD Widescreen 2:39:1) My biggest concern was that there’d be a drop in quality between the casino scene and stand-up, but luckily there isn’t. The intimate filmed setting and the bombastic display in a football stadium are both high quality.
Audio: (English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1) Despite his screaming, squealing, and the roaring laughter of his crowd, the sound mixing and balancing hops along without the viewer ever having to touch the volume control.
Alternate Opening (2:44): This is an alternate opening to the casino scene and it’s better to me because it features Chris Rock. Not only do you have him throwing out jokes, but it almost feels like a passing of the torch between generations.
Deleted/Alternate Scenes (3:02): These five scenes are a part of the casino sequence. While I don’t feel like they’re funny, I could see how some people would find it humorous. I’m surprised this much comedic material was filmed for a short intro.
Gag Reel (2:43): A self-explanatory feature. It shows how much fun they had filming the casino scenes.
Making of a Spy Intro (6:13): This isn’t Tim Story’s first time working with Hart and it shows how they further bonded over creating the casino sequence. The jokes in the sequence seemed to be a true collaborative effort between the two instead of one of Hart’s fleeting comedic ideas. We also get to hear from some of the celebrity extras who popped up.
On Tour with Kevin Hart (18:06): This multi-part feature follows Kevin Hart across the country as he works on his movie, talks with fans and works on his routine. There are also a couple of stops where we just seem him naturally during his downtime. Its part staged and part realistic which helps you relate with Hart.