NIGHT SCHOOL DVD (2018)
SYNOPSIS: When accidentally destroying his workplace gets successful salesman Teddy (KEVIN HART) fired, he can’t find another decent job unless he finally gets his GED. But two major things stand in his way: Carrie (TIFFANY HADDISH), a teacher with no time for grown-up class clowns, and Stewart (TARAN KILLAM), Teddy’s high school nemesis-turned-principal who will do anything to see him fail. Now every school rule is about to be broken when they all go head-to-head in a wild battle of wits, pranks, and lessons you can’t learn in books. Night School is in session!
MOVIE REVIEW:
Kevin Hart attempts to pull off a humorous, hartfelt tale about not giving up in life but Night School turned up to be a way-too-long, filled-with-too-little-laughs comedy that fails miserably.
Hart plays Teddy Walker who drops out of high school to become a barbeque grill salesman. But when a proposal to his girlfriend went wrong and in turn causes him to lose his job, Teddy realises he needs a GED (equivalent to a diploma) to get a new job at his friend’s investment firm. The only way it seems is for him to go back to his high school to attend night classes under unorthodox teacher, Carrie (Tiffany Haddish) with a bunch of assorted misfits as his classmates.
With the exception of a gross-out pubic hair gag, Night School stays relatively safe in terms of coarse antics. There are lots of improv comedy lurking around liked the first encounter between Teddy and Carrie at a traffic light. Some worked liked magic while others are just meh. Liked the gag about a Christian fried chicken outlet which simply doesn’t work. The funniest of all happened to be Teddy and his classmates trying to escape the school facility after stealing the test answers. You have Rob Riggle to thank for it.
For the most of the two hour running time, the jokes are mostly spread across Kevin Hart and the ensemble of students. Stewart, the principal whom Teddy bullied when he was young, Theresa, the underappreciated and lonely housewife, Luis, the singer-wannabe, Bobby the inmate who learnt via Skype with Rob Riggle and Romany Malco. The supposed laugh riot is so spread out that the second-billed Tiffany Haddish hardly gets the chance to shine despite her best attempt to banter and trading wisecracks with Kevin Hart.
What sounds like a promising comedy on paper never comes alive even with Girls Trip’s Malcom D. Lee at the helm and the inputs of six writers including Hart. The performers seem game on but the material seems dead on arrival. Night School is definitely one of Hart’s recent mishaps, we rather you check out Hart’s dramatic appearance in The Upside if you are drawn to his stand-up comedian persona. That one sure has more hart than this.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
There are over 16 minutes of Deleted Scenes to an already long movie and an Alternate Opening.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
Night School DVD delivers a serviceable Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack which is clear and solid. Music and surround sound effects are excellent too. Colours, texture and details are generally good although minor noise are expected on DVD.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD RATING :
Review by Linus Tee
