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Get Hard

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Get Hard
A man in a suit is getting his hair braided into cornrows
Theatrical release poster
Directed byEtan Cohen
Screenplay by
Story by
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyTim Suhrstedt
Edited byMichael L. Sale
Music byChristophe Beck
Production
companies
Distributed byWarner Bros. Pictures
Release dates
  • March 16, 2015 (2015-03-16) (SXSW)
  • March 27, 2015 (2015-03-27) (United States)
Running time
100 minutes[1][2]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$40-44 million[3][4]
Box office$111.8 million[4]

Get Hard is a 2015 American crime comedy film directed by Etan Cohen (in his directorial debut) and written by Cohen, Jay Martel, and Ian Roberts.[5] The film stars Will Ferrell and Kevin Hart with Tip "T.I." Harris, Alison Brie, and Craig T. Nelson in supporting roles.[6] The film focuses on James King (Ferrell), a wealthy investment bank manager who is framed for a crime he did not commit, and asks the man who washes his car, Darnell Lewis (Hart) to help him prepare for prison.

The film was released March 27, 2015 to generally negative reviews.

Plot

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James King is a wealthy hedge fund manager at Barrow Funds, engaged to Alissa, the daughter of his boss Martin Barrow. During an engagement party for James and Alissa, the FBI arrive and arrest James for fraud and embezzlement. James' lawyer, Peter Penny, urges him to plead guilty for a likely shorter sentence, but James refuses under the belief that he will be exonerated. James is found guilty, however, and subsequently sentenced to 10 years in San Quentin State Prison, with the judge allowing him 30 days to get his affairs in order. On top of this, Alissa leaves James after he suggests the two flee the country together.

Over time, James has come to know Darnell Lewis, who operates a small car wash business in the parking lot used by James. Shortly after his arrest, James encounters Darnell and, assuming he has been incarcerated before because he is Black, begs him for help, requesting to be "toughened up". Darnell, who in actuality has never been to prison and has little experience in fighting, agrees, on the condition James pays him $30,000; Darnell sees it as an opportunity for him and his wife Rita to finally put their daughter Makayla in a better school, away from the bad neighborhood they live in.

Darnell's training, which includes pepper-spraying James, re-modelling his house to resemble a maximum security prison and creating multiple scenarios in which he must defend himself, all fail miserably. During the training, James gets in touch with Martin to tell him about his search for help. Martin, the actual crook, believes James is onto him and orders a hitman named Gayle to monitor him.

With James' training seemingly going nowhere, Darnell suggests that James should prepare in other ways for prison, and takes him to a gay hookup spot to teach James how to perform oral sex in prison. James can't go through with it and instead tells Darnell that he will keep going and do whatever it takes in order to "get hard". James soon after begins to work out harder and faster, makes shivs, learns "keistering" (smuggling contraband in the anus), and seems to be making progress. Darnell simulates a prison riot with help from James' domestic staff. In the chaos, James gets a shiv stuck in his head, after which, Darnell brings James to his home for Rita to treat it. James has dinner with Darnell's family and listens to the tale of how he ended up in prison, which is actually just a retelling of the movie Boyz n the Hood.

James and Darnell resolve for James to join a local gang called the Crenshaw Kings to gain protection in prison. However, Darnell's cousin and gang leader Russell rebuffs James and redirects him to the Alliance of Whites gang. James is unable to portray a convincing racist, leading the gang to think he is a cop; they threaten to attack James, but Darnell rescues him by bursting in with a flamethrower.

Eventually, Darnell and James finally deduce that Martin is the crook and the reason James is going to prison. They sneak into his office and find the embezzlement records on Martin's computer. Before they can expose him, Gayle finds them and takes back the computer, informing James that Darnell is not who he thinks he is and has never been in prison. Dejected and upset that Darnell lied to him, James returns to the Crenshaw Kings on his own, asking to join. They accept him as one of their own and order him to kill someone as his initiation. Before he can do so, Darnell arrives in time to convince James to expose Martin.

The two sneak onto Martin's yacht to retrieve the computer, only to come across Gayle and his men. James unleashes a series of capoeira moves on them before Martin and Alissa arrive, both confessing to the fraud and embezzlement, a scheme that also included Peter. They try to convince James to run away with them, but he turns them down and heads to a life raft with Darnell. When Gayle shoots the life raft, James pulls out a gun he had "keistered" and aims it at Gayle. U.S. Marshals suddenly appear, summoned by the ankle monitor that James triggered, having trespassed the county line.

Martin's computer provides the evidence needed to clear James. Martin, Gayle, Alissa, and the henchmen are all arrested and James is exonerated. However, he is still sentenced to six months in prison for holding an unlicensed gun, but thanks to Darnell's training, James is fully prepared for his stint in prison, unlike Martin, who is quickly attacked by inmates when his San Quentin sentence with Peter begins. James spends his sentence helping the FBI retrieve all the assets that Martin stole while guiding Darnell's investments so that he and Rita are able to open their own carwash. As Darnell drives James home after his release, James announces his intent to celebrate his freedom with a Wall Street Journal and a forty, which he now considers a perfect Sunday.

Cast

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  • Will Ferrell as James King, a hedge fund manager who is framed for embezzlement
  • Kevin Hart as Darnell Lewis, a car wash attendant who helps James prepare for prison, despite never being in prison.
  • Craig T. Nelson as Martin Barrow, the head of Barrow Funds and father of Alissa who frames James for embezzlement
  • Alison Brie as Alissa Barrow, the gold-digging fiancée of James and daughter of Martin Barrow
  • Edwina Findley as Rita Lewis, Darnell's wife
  • Tip "T.I." Harris as Russell, Darnell's cousin who is the leader of the Crenshaw Kings
  • Ariana Neal as Makayla Lewis, Darnell and Rita's daughter
  • Erick Chavarria as Cecelio, James' gardener
  • Katia Gomez as Rosa, James' maid
  • Greg Germann as Peter Penny, a lawyer associated with James and Martin
  • Paul Ben-Victor as Gayle, Martin's hired help
  • John Mayer as himself, he performs at James and Alissa's engagement party and later appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon where he talks about James and sings a sample from his ballad about him
  • Jon Eyez as Big Mike
  • Nito Larioza as Jaoa
  • Dan Bakkedahl as Leo
  • Ron Funches as Jojo, a member of the Crenshaw Kings
  • Elliot Grey as Judge V. Carlyle, the judge that presides over James' trial
  • Matt Walsh as Bathroom Stall Man
  • T. J. Jagodowski as Chris
  • Dominique Perry as Shonda
  • Jimmy Fallon as himself (uncredited), he interviews John Mayer about being present during James' arrest

Production

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On December 7, 2012, it was announced that Warner Bros. was in talks to acquire the film written by Ian Roberts and Jay Martel, while Adam McKay and Will Ferrell's Gary Sanchez Productions would produce.[7] On September 17, 2013 Etan Cohen was set to direct.[5] On February 24, 2014, Warner Bros. set the film for a March 27, 2015 release.[8]

On December 7, 2012, Will Ferrell and Kevin Hart were attached to starring roles.[7] On February 26, 2014, it was announced Craig T. Nelson had joined the cast to play Martin Barrow, the founder of Barrow Funds (Ferrell's character's boss) and also the father of Ferrell's character's fiancée.[9] On March 17, 2014 Alison Brie signed on to star, playing the fiancée of Ferrell's character.[10] On March 21, 2014, Edwina Findley joined the cast to play Rita Hudson, wife to Hart's character.[11] On March 24, 2014 Dan Bakkedahl joined the cast to play Rick, Ferrell's hated enemy at their office.[12] On March 25, 2014, T.I. joined the cast, playing a character named Russell, Hart's character's streetwise cousin.[13]

Principal photography began on March 17, 2014, in New Orleans,[14] and ended on May 14, 2014.[15] The film was somewhat controversial with some perceiving that it was playing into race-related stereotypes.[16] During some scenes Cohen asked Hart's opinion on how some jokes would be perceived by African American audiences and made some changes accordingly.[16] Warner Bros. and Cohen also performed extensive testing to make sure the humor came across well.[16]

Music

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On October 30, 2014, Christophe Beck was hired to compose the music for the film.[17]

Release

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The film was released by Warner Bros. on March 27, 2015.[8]

Reception

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Box office

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Get Hard grossed $90.4 million in the United States and Canada, and $21.3 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $111.7 million against a budget of $40 million.[4] (Other reports put the budget at $44 million. The film also received $12.3 million in tax incentives for filming in Louisiana.)[3]

In its opening weekend, the film grossed $33.8 million, coming in second place at the box office behind Home ($52.1 million). It was Ferrell's third-highest opening for a live-action film, behind Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby ($47 million) and The Other Guys ($35.5 million), and was passed the following December by Daddy's Home ($38.7 million).[18]

Critical response

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Get Hard has received generally negative reviews, with many critics citing the film's overuse of racial jokes. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 28% based on 186 reviews, with an average rating of 4.40/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "A waste of two fine funnymen, Get Hard settles for tired and offensive gags instead of tapping into its premise's boundary-pushing potential."[19] On Metacritic the film has a weighted average score of 34 out of 100, based on reviews from 43 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[20] CinemaScore polls conducted during the opening weekend recorded that audiences gave Get Hard an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.[21]

Richard Corliss of Time magazine wrote: "Laughter trumps political fairness, and Get Hard made me laugh at, and with, situations I hadn’t thought could tickle me. The movie has a warm heart beating under its seemingly scabrous shell."[22]

The film was criticized for its gay panic jokes and homophobia.[23][24]

References

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  1. ^ "Get Hard (15)". British Board of Film Classification. March 9, 2015. Archived from the original on July 3, 2020. Retrieved March 9, 2015.
  2. ^ "AMC Theatres: Get Hard". amctheatres.com. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved February 12, 2015.
  3. ^ a b "2015 Film Study" (PDF). May 2016. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 30, 2018. Retrieved August 24, 2019.
  4. ^ a b c "Get Hard (2015)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on May 14, 2019. Retrieved June 16, 2016.
  5. ^ a b Kroll, Justin (September 17, 2013). "Etan Cohen to Direct Will Ferrell and Kevin Hart in Warner Bros. 'Get Hard'". variety.com. Archived from the original on April 28, 2023. Retrieved March 5, 2014.
  6. ^ THR Staff (December 19, 2014). "Kevin Hart Schools a Racist, Convicted Will Ferrell in the 'Get Hard' Trailer". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved February 12, 2015.
  7. ^ a b Fleming, Mike Jr. (December 7, 2012). "Warner Bros In Talks For 'Get Hard' With Will Ferrell And Kevin Hart Attached To Star". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on May 20, 2014. Retrieved March 5, 2014.
  8. ^ a b Ford, Rebecca (February 24, 2014). "Will Ferrell-Kevin Hart Comedy 'Get Hard' Lands Release Date". hollywoodreporter.com. Archived from the original on July 4, 2020. Retrieved March 5, 2014.
  9. ^ Ford, Rebecca (February 26, 2014). "Craig T. Nelson Joins Will Ferrell-Kevin Hart Comedy 'Get Hard'". hollywoodreporter.com. Archived from the original on October 24, 2020. Retrieved March 5, 2014.
  10. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (March 17, 2014). "'Community's Alison Brie Joins Will Ferrell-Kevin Hart Comedy 'Get Hard'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on May 20, 2014. Retrieved March 18, 2014.
  11. ^ "Edwina Findley Cast In 'Get Hard'". Deadline Hollywood. March 21, 2014. Archived from the original on May 20, 2014. Retrieved March 22, 2014.
  12. ^ "Dan Bakkedahl Joins 'Get Hard'". Deadline Hollywood. March 24, 2014. Archived from the original on March 28, 2014. Retrieved March 25, 2014.
  13. ^ "T.I. Joins Will Ferrell Comedy 'Get Hard'". Deadline Hollywood. March 25, 2014. Archived from the original on May 20, 2014. Retrieved March 26, 2014.
  14. ^ "GET HARD with Will Ferrell and Kevin Hart Begins Filming". broadwayworld.com. March 18, 2014. Archived from the original on March 22, 2014. Retrieved March 21, 2014.
  15. ^ "On The Set For 5/19/14: Christoph Waltz-Starrer 'Tulip Fever' Starts For The Weinstein Co". Studiosystemnews.com. Archived from the original on May 21, 2014. Retrieved May 21, 2014.
  16. ^ a b c Zeitchik, Steven (March 26, 2015). "For 'Get Hard' director, race-themed satire is a tricky enterprise". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on October 30, 2020. Retrieved November 21, 2015.
  17. ^ "Christophe Beck Scoring 'Get Hard'". filmmusicreporter.com. October 30, 2014. Archived from the original on October 31, 2014. Retrieved October 31, 2014.
  18. ^ "Will Ferrell". boxofficemojo.com. Archived from the original on January 28, 2012.
  19. ^ "Get Hard". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on April 25, 2021. Retrieved May 11, 2021.
  20. ^ "Get Hard Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on September 9, 2020. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
  21. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (March 29, 2015). "Star Power Propels DWA's 'Home' To $54M; 'Get Hard' To $34.6M – Final Sunday AM Box Office Update". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on March 28, 2015. Retrieved September 22, 2021. auds gave it a B CinemaScore, guys under 18 loved it with an A-.
  22. ^ Corliss, Richard (March 27, 2015). "Don't Tell Anyone, But I Kind of Liked Get Hard". Time. Archived from the original on September 28, 2020. Retrieved August 25, 2019.
  23. ^ Needham, Alex (March 17, 2015). "Get Hard review – Will Ferrell continues the tradition of gay panic comedies". The Guardian. Archived from the original on September 22, 2021. Retrieved September 11, 2021.
  24. ^ Donnelly, Matt (May 2, 2016). "Hollywood Movies Still Stereotype LGBT Characters, Depict 'Gay Panic' Scenes". The Wrap. Archived from the original on October 20, 2021. Retrieved September 11, 2021.
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