Friday, January 18, 2019

The Upside (2019) review

Bryan Cranston and Kevin Hart in The Upside (2017)

(Howdy, folks! This one’s going to be a little shorter than the usual review only because I’m currently working on my End of the Year lists.)

Today’s film, The Upside, is an interesting one to talk about mainly because of its source material. In 2011, French filmmakers Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano released their latest project, The Intouchables. The film starred Omar Sy as a man who, after being released from prison, ends up getting hired to be the caretaker for a quadriplegic millionaire, played by François Cluzet. Inspired by the real-life story of businessman Philippe Pozzo di Borgo and his caretaker Abdel Sellou, the film did quite well with critics upon its release and Sy ended up winning the Cesar Award (AKA the French Oscars) for Best Actor. However, it was an even bigger hit from a financial perspective, grossing the equivalent of $412.9 million at the worldwide box-office and becoming the second highest-grossing French film of all-time behind 2008’s Welcome to the Sticks. Since its release, a few remakes have been produced by other countries, including a 2015 Indian remake, Oopiri, a 2016 Argentinian remake, Inseparables, and an impending Bollywood adaptation. As for an American adaptation, directorial duties ultimately went to Neil Burger, whose filmography includes the 2006 romantic period piece The Illusionist, 2011’s sci-fi thriller Limitless, and the first installment of the Divergent series, with Kevin Hart and Bryan Cranston taking on the lead roles. And although the film spent a few years in limbo due to a shift in distributors, it’s now seen the light of day as one of the first releases of 2019 and an enjoyable little crowd-pleaser that benefits heavily from its excellent lead duo.

At the time that I’m writing this, I have not seen the original Intouchables, though I was at least made aware of it back when it was released because of its financial success. Even with this in mind, however, it’s clear that this new film isn’t that different from the original, as it still follows the same plot of a recently paroled man (Kevin Hart) who inadvertently becomes the caretaker of a recently paralyzed millionaire (Bryan Cranston). As such, the film’s plot is admittedly very predictable. It’s your standard buddy comedy about two mismatched characters who gradually learn to get along and help each other better themselves in life in the process, and thus, it’s quite easy to tell where it’s going to go narratively. Still, for what it’s worth, the film does a nice job when it comes to balancing its comedy with its drama. The humor in this is solid, for the most part, and there are also some very effective emotional moments peppered in as well. Ultimately, though, this film mainly succeeds because of the excellent camaraderie of Kevin Hart and Bryan Cranston. While the film does give him the chance to do some solid dramatic work, Hart is his usual animated self here and this is matched nicely with Cranston’s dry wit. And while most of her role in the film consists of her reacting to Hart’s shenanigans, Nicole Kidman makes the most out of her supporting role as Yvonne, the loyal assistant of Cranston’s character Phillip. In conclusion, The Upside certainly fits the bill when it comes to a January release. It’s not going to win any major awards, but if you’re just looking for a decent little dramedy, then the dynamic lead duo of Kevin Hart and Bryan Cranston does make this one worth checking out.


Rating: 3.5/5

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