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Night School

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Kevin Hart in a scene from the movie Night School. (Universal Pictures)
Kevin Hart in a scene from the movie Night School. (Universal Pictures)

WHAT IT'S ABOUT:

Teddy Walker's (Kevin Hart) life takes an unexpected turn when he accidentally blows up his place of employment. Forced to attend night school to get his GED, he must now deal with a group of misfit students and a feisty teacher (Tiffany Haddish) who doesn't think he's too bright.

WHAT WE THOUGHT:

Teddy Walker (Kevin Hart) is a high school dropout, who despite his lack of a high school diploma managed to hustle his way to a fancy lifestyle, and a girlfriend Lisa (Megalyn Echikunwoke) who is clearly out of his league.

But when Teddy blows up his workplace, his luxury lifestyle is put in jeopardy. Teddy is now caught in a lie, and must attend night school to complete his GED, so he can secure a good paying job and keep up appearances. 

A secret he keeps from his girlfriend. 

(Note: GED is the equivalent to a grade 12 certificate)   

But of course, when he goes back to his old high school to enroll in night school, his old nemesis Stuart (Taran Killam) is now the principal, and Stuart wants revenge. 

And the obstacles don’t just stop there, Teddy bumps heads with his loud-mouth teacher Carrie (Tiffany Haddish) - who in the first five seconds of meeting Teddy sees straight through his smooth-talking and calls him a leprechaun.

As one would expect from a movie starring Hart and Haddish, the inappropriate humour and below-the-belt insults come flying straight off the bat, but sadly the rest of the movie fails to build on that momentum.

Of course, there are also the inevitable jokes about pubes, barfs and farts. And I’ll admit, the movie got a couple of good laughs out of me.  

Sadly, a lot of the jokes relied heavily on sexual innuendoes, slapstick violence and the typical movie stereotypes: Dumb jock, sexually frustrated housewife, and an immigrant with a thick, hard to understand accent. 

Some of the scenes just really didn’t make any sense either. How can someone fall off a roof, break his arm and walk back into class the next day like nothing happened? 

The storyline with Teddy and his girlfriend, didn’t really hold up that great. And to be honest, I was getting really bored, real fast with Teddy trying to give his blissfully unaware girlfriend the run-around on his whereabouts.  

But beneath all the laughs (if you really look closely) there is a positive message about learning disabilities and second chances. 

Despite the comedy hiccups, Hart and Haddish save Night School from what would otherwise have been a barely passable comedy.



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