Review of Kevin Hart: What Now? (2016) by Thequietgamer — 12 Apr 2017

Kevin Hart is back with another live concert movie. It's essentially everything you would expect. The comedian is still showing off his rare ability to be arrogant, self-depreciating, and brutally honest about himself all in the same hour and a half and make it all seem natural. The film kicks off with a nice, scripted James Bond parody that has some nice recognizable faces along for the ride. It's an amusing way to kick things off even if it is just a way for Hart to pat himself on the back for all that he's accomplished.

The rest of the movie is pure stand-up in-front of over 50,000 people in the sold out football stadium, Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. So yeah, all that bragging probably isn't unjustified. It's here where the movie really takes off. Hart is just great at stand-up. His stories connect with the audience, be they fabricated or not. He also always has that nice payoff to them. Needless to say, there are quite a few laughs to be found. Yet, perhaps not as much as some of Hart's other stand-up tours. This is due to the fact that early on Hart tries way too hard to compensate for the amount of people he is performing to. By that I mean he tries a little too hard to everyone pumped up and laughing by going overboard with his more cartoonish stand-up qualities. You can expect a lot of over-the-top screaming, ridiculous faces, and loud noises from the comedian. Now these are things Hart is known for doing. Here though you can tell they are a little too forced for the sake of really exciting such a huge audience. This only affects about the first half or so. As the show goes on Hart gets a little more comfortable, tones down the theatrics (almost the whole show is backed up by overly intrusive special effects taking place on three huge screens behind Hart that usually feel unnecessary), brings out his best stories and jokes, and delivers them in the way that made this well-loved comedian so well-loved in the first place. That's when the laughs really start coming.

So aside from some early indulgences and overly try-hard attempts to entertain, "What Now?" is another winner for the stand-up comedian. Not all of the jokes are among his best material, but when all is said and done the man is still very funny. So for Kevin Hart fans this is a no-brainer. However, if you've never really enjoyed his material this won't change your mind. Of course, as Hart proves here it doesn't really need to. He's doing perfectly fine without you.