I have read the many reviews of this movie, and I have to say….. those folks are mostly too jaundiced or have seen too many movies in a row (or they are allergic to movies that have something of a lesson or moral for us all). This movie is laugh out loud funny, and it is also poignant and can make you cry. Rather quickly you come to care about Philip and Dell and Yvonne and their lives and dysfunctions, and you want things to turn out well. Some have complained the movie drags at 2 hours and six minutes but I thought it was perfectly paced… and actually I wanted more. I haven’t laughed this much in a movie theater in a long time. It’s a cathartic kind of movie. The acting is excellent, including the job Kevin Hart does in a serious role. And the story is in fact a true story that was made into a movie previously by the French under the title ‘The Intouchables’ (2011). The movie is not primarily a morality play about race, though the race issue comes up along with the wealth issue as well. Primarily the movie focuses on human relationships involving flawed persons. N.B. We are all flawed persons in one way or another, so the message is ‘less judging on appearances, more empathy and compassion would be good’.
Yes, this is also a buddy movie, and it’s been a long time since we had a good one involving two characters as different as these two persons. One of the lessons one learns along the way is that we need people who are different than ourselves, to see ourselves as we are…. and to be stretched beyond our comfort zones. In that sense, this is a movie about moving on faith, trusting what you hope will be true, and trying not to give in to one’s worst traits and habits.
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