Comedian Kevin Hart performs in front of a crowd of 50,000 people at Philadelphia's outdoor venue, Lincoln Financial Field.
Plot Synopsis:
-------------------
----------------------------------------
johns6087 from United Kingdom
----------------------------------------
This stand up special is not very good. I think it probably is just as simple as Kevin Hart having done too much stuff too quickly and too recently.
I have liked his stuff in the past including his stand up comedy appearances and also his early movie roles. But his more recent stuff including starring movie roles in lesser quality movies and especially his stand up comedy are just not up to the same quality I'm used to seeing from him.
I hope he takes some time off to write and develop some stronger stuff instead of just churning stuff out this quickly in the future, to bring the quality up.
----------------------------------------
Dave McClain (dave-mcclain@hotmail.com) from United States
----------------------------------------
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-".
----------------------------------------
Demerson30 from United States
----------------------------------------
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)
----------------------------------------
dangershark7 from Switzerland
----------------------------------------
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.
----------------------------------------
petermgedeon
----------------------------------------
Ripping off James Bond in the intro foreshadows the current state of politics in Europe and the comics performance which is poor. How could this even make it to a theater? Do censors exist in Hollywood? If they do it might serve them and their wallet to make this an HBO special. Paying to watch it might make anyone feel like they gave Donald Trump money to make them laugh via stand up comedy. Everyone laughing in the audience made me loose hope in humanity. I hope that the next time Kevin will hire black people to write jokes or quit trying to write his own content because he sounds like an angry white man. Sometimes having too much money makes people less funny and this is that scenario.
----------------------------------------
wscxscrub
----------------------------------------
I was looking forward to seeing Kevin Hart's new stand up, hoping that he would redeem himself after releasing multiple "buddy cop" movies in the recent years that ultimately are the same thing. Unfortunately I was only let down further with this film.
He lost me right off the bat when the first 15-18 minutes was his SNL monologue from when he hosted the show back in 2013. He added a few things to the bit, spoke as if it had just happened last week, and delivered it virtually the same way as he did three years prior. From then on he continued to degrade his wife by saying he'd leave if she became disfigured. Now I love dark humor, Anthony Jeselnik is one of my favorite comedians, but Kevin Hart just comes off as sleazy when he tries it. This might be due to the fact that it's directed towards his wife/fiancé (or whomever he is with at the time) or towards his younger son, people who he has a direct relationship with. Hart resorted to a lot of cheap lowbrow comedy this time around. He spent a solid 10 minutes talking about having sex with a pocket p****. After that he went into detail about how his body was not responding well to coffee and acted as a very strong laxative. I am not offended by anything he said, he just did not deliver his material in such a way that the raunchy and rude comedy he came up with would be well received. One thing that a good comedian can do is to refer to an earlier joke as a smaller punchline to a later joke. Doing this makes the audience feel as if they are in on an inside joke with the comedian and had you not heard the earlier joke you wouldn't get it. Sort of a "you had to be there" moment that makes it more personal. Hart attempts this and the first time he did it was pretty good, but after the 5th or 6th time he referred to an earlier joke, the moment was lost and so was the humor. Kind of like that one kid in school who says one thing that gets a laugh then continues to use the same joke as a "Hey remember that one time?". It just doesn't work.
The short film he had at the beginning of the special was actually really good. I enjoyed seeing these well known actors appear and get angry and other shenanigans. That part was enjoyable, but again was just Kevin Hart playing the same person he was in his last few action movies.
If you wish to see this movie I totally think you should, just know that if you head into it with high hopes you're most likely going to be let down.
----------------------------------------
steve beard (stevendbeard@aol.com) from United States
----------------------------------------
I saw "Kevin Hart:What Now?", starring Kevin Hart-Central Intelligence, Death at a Funeral; Halle Berry-The X-Men movies, Catwoman; Don Cheadle- House of Lies-TV, the Iron Man movies and Ed Helms-Vacation_2015, The Hangover movies.
This is another Kevin Hart stand up comedy special-I think his 3rd and he says, it's his last-where he sold out a football stadium in Philadelphia with about 50,000 people in attendance. I'm sure I am in the minority here, but I just did not think it was that funny. I thought Kevin was funny in Central Intelligence and the Ride Along movies. Well, just about all of his other movies, too. But I just don't care for his stand up. FYI: I did not hear anyone else in my theater laugh during the whole movie. Kevin just tells stories about his girlfriend, kids, father and friends. He doesn't really tell jokes. And, he cusses a lot. To me, it just wasn't funny. Now, at the beginning, he does a James Bond styled opening where he goes to a casino with Halle and plays poker. I liked that better. They should have made a whole movie about that. Don plays a fellow poker player and Ed is the bartender. Kevin also imitates a scene straight out of the Equalizer. You know, the one where Denzel takes out all the bad guys in the office in about 18 seconds. Now I will admit, I don't know what any of this has to do with his stand up but I did like those parts. It's rated "R" for language and sexual content-no nudity-and has a running time of 1 hour & 36 minutes. I would not buy this on DVD. I don't think I would rent it either. If you really want to see it, I would wait until it comes to cable.
----------------------------------------
neoduric from Croatia
----------------------------------------
Kevin Hart's new stand up movie was a big hit but was it any good? First of all intro for the stand up was really nicely done. It had a good approach and there was some nice looking scenes with mostly funny situations. Then it took turn to stand up and there was a nice try to to keep it funny. First half of the stand up act was pretty boring and joke were on some very low level and he tried to move crowd with his acting and giving a performance but it was not enough as he just did not deliver jokes as we are used to. Then came second half and he was all over the place, instantly he felt like Kevin and joke felt original giving a good thing to the movie. From that point it was extremely funny and there are some of the best jokes that he ever had. There is a lot of room for improvement and there are things to learn from this movie. Considering there could be a lot of work to do left for him it was alright movie. 6.0/10
----------------------------------------
javiergarcon from Miami FL
----------------------------------------
I do not know how people rate these actors and comedians but they all lack substance! I have been reviewing and acting for over 20 years (Yeah when the internet only existed in College) No one had cell phones! Now today everyone is a critic, Many of these people are so unprofessional, Kevin Hart is my main man in Comedy! I can not find anyone in this world that can make everyone laugh! everyone being the keyword! Grab your favorite comedians in America and let's send them to Egypt! now let's test the laugh meter! Yeah, that is what I thought! Kevin Hart makes camels laugh and they are not even human! Kevin Hart is also humble and gives credits to the greats in comedy but unfortunately for you Kevin YOU ARE NOW A LEGEND! You work absolutely hard and go beyond those that have been there before! largest crowd in American comedy history! So close to selling out over 70,000 which is the world record in the UK.
----------------------------------------
coreyjdenford from England
----------------------------------------
This is my review of Kevin Hart: What Now? (spoiler free)
*** (3/5)
AS A COMEDY film star Kevin Hart isn't funny as his annoying high pitched voice takes over the entirety of the movies, and he delivers one high pitched screamed un-funny line to the other horrendously un-funny line. However as an on-stage stand-up comedian he is relentlessly funny; for the most part anyway. After the staggering success of his other live concert movies Let Me Explain and Laugh at my Pain he returns to his home town tour in Philadelphia with more comedic material performing live in front of a record-breaking 50,000 people at Philadelphia's outdoor venue, the Lincoln Financial Field an American football stadium, it is the biggest ever audience for a comedy show as the stadium is at capacity. What Now? opens with an ill-advised short film like sketch directed by Tim Story, no not the director of the Ride Along series, as it stars Hart as a spy named Agent 0054 alongside Halle Berry, unfortunately this is Hart with his usual mannerisms or Hartisms as it relies on poor continuity with the jokes so it delivers more dry laughs as he tries to be funny but drastically fails.
The scene plays in a casino that he has to go into to find a person to infiltrate look out for a blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo of Hangover star Ed Helms, but the rest of the scene although original is filled with poor continuation, repetition and even a mediocre fight scene with Hart being braver than he normally is and not screaming his lungs out every few minutes. All this takes place three hours before the show, and it ends with Hart covered in blood and changing for the show. Finally he appears on stage with black-on-black attire and some more original material with 50,000 people thinking he is a good. While watching a live comedy performance on such a big stage in front of a massive audience there is always one thing to consider; how funny is the material? Or will it stop funny half way through?
In What Now it relies on some of the simplest pleasures and that is Hart's storytelling as he mainly talks about his personal life with his kids and his wife, whom he calls his lady as we learn that some of the funniest comedy comes that comes from the performer is always comedy about real life places and people. So, Hart takes over the stage shouting, screaming, sweating and pacing telling these relentlessly funny stories about his kids and the camera shows some of the audience holding their head in their hands and crying with laughter.
What follows through-out for most of the entire film is this material about his adored personal life that has quite a range as it starts out being sort of funny, and then continues to be hugely hilarious with every single member of the audience screaming and laughing and even a couple of time can be seen copying some of the lines. This only happens in the first 2/3 of the movie, but unfortunately the last 1/3 relies on drearier storytelling, same old material as he copies some of the same jokes and there are mediocre laughs as some of the audience starts to get a little bored, there are a couple of moments that stick out but none of them will take of the hilarity over the 2/3 of the film. To end it goes back to the ending of the spy sketch and continuing with the poor comedic standard and he wants to take his comedy all over the world and asks will the world think he is funny? So is he funny? It all depends. Despite some of the un-funny Hollywood trappings, in the Ride Along double and some massively ill-advised giant-screen visuals which intend to augment some of his hackneyed routines, Hart's actual stand-up is funny and doesn't rely on too much movie bombast or too heavy of a Hollywood ego.
VERDICT: Hart's third live concert movie is relentlessly funny for the most part with 50,000 people thinking he's hilarious and crying with laughter, but unfortunately the rest of What Now is filled with repetition, poor continuation and dry mediocre laughs.
6/10 mediocre.
reenactment|scene during end credits|rape joke|telling a joke|storytelling|year 2015|football stadium|covered in blood|stabbed to death|stabbed through the chin|stabbed in the chest|shot to death|shot in the chest|shot in the forehead|pistol|fight|close up of eyes|bartender|suitcase full of money|poker|gambling|character can see subtitle|actress playing herself|actor playing himself|cameo|russian|subtitled scene|finger gun|stand up comedian|stand up comedy|philadelphia pennsylvania|spy spoof|reference to lebron james|reference to batman|reference to iron man|reference to james bond|casino|question in title|
AKAs Titles:
Certifications:
Canada:14A (British Columbia) / USA:R (certificate #50277)
Movie Details:
MOVIE
