Michael's Movie Grade: C+
Review: An enjoyable little comedy. This may never go down as a comedy classic, but for what it is I enjoyed myself.
What makes this movie work most of all is simply that the main character is so likable. He may tell big lies to his fiancée and family, but one gets the feeling it is not really them he is lying to but instead, he is lying to himself. There is little about him that ever feels intentionally cruel. His difficultly learning is treated very respectably and is very relatable. It is also shown well cinematically by having the problems come out at him visually and get all tangled up. We really do feel for him and want to see him succeed. There is never a moment in this film in which we are not rooting for him, and this makes even some of the weaker moments work. Adding to this is that he is played with a very likable charm by Kevin Hart.
The humor is not laugh out loud hilarious and one feels at times not as consistent as it should be. Despite this there are some legitimately funny scenes here. The best laughs seem to come from the over the top strict principal who holds a grudge against our main character. He is so over the top and takes so much joy in our protagonists troubles that it is hard not to laugh. Tiffany Haddish gets to play a more understated role, but still gets to show off her comedy chops. This more "subtle" approach actually makes her funnier than she is in some of her more over the top roles. The comedic chemistry between her and Hart is quite good, and it is a lot of fun watching them together. On the other hand the fellow classmates of the protagonist are rather weak and the jokes from them hardly crack a smile.
The story in this movie is very predictable. At every second you knew exactly what was going to happen. There is not a single surprise and there are a few times when you feel like you have seen this before. Still it moves swiftly and thanks to the likability of the main character, it still works.
Maybe this is not a brilliant work of art, or a laugh out loud hilarious movie, but if you want to just go out and see a likeable movie that will give you a few laughs, this movie will give you just that.
-Michael J. Ruhland
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