Review of The Upside (2019) by Lcamoviereviews — 18 Apr 2019

Kevin Hart take on a dramatic role? He knocks it out of the park. With that being said, how was the movie? I can say this is a movie that everyone should see if they are having hard times in life or some medical problems.

It truly makes you see that no matter what problems you have, anything is possible to make it better. We first see Dell (Kevin Hart) driving a sports car down the nighttime streets with Phillip (Bryan Cranston), sporting a ginger beard, looking saddened.

This leads to cop cars chasing down their speeding vehicle and Dell making an excuse that he is taking Phillip to the hospital just so he can get out of being arrested. After these moments, the movie jumps back six months earlier.

The events leading us to their meeting take some time to get going. Moments of the first 35 to 40 minutes did move slow at times. The buildup takes us through Dell's background and his criminal background and difficulty with his parole officer while we don't get much of Phillip's backstory until Dell starts working for him.

Odd choice to make us wait this long to learn about the other main character but this does not hurt the film, I just thought it was a interesting choice to put all the focus on Dell for the first 25 minutes without any screen time from Cranston.

Once Dell begins working for Phillip, things really get going. We are treated to lots of good funny and warm moments between them which Hart of course plays well but what is nice is, this isn't his typical comedy shtick.

Something about his humor hear feels different and it's quite nice. It allows the audience to see that Kevin Hart can truly act and pull of drama and not just comedy. His chemistry with Cranston is what carries this movie and the banter and play off one another works.

How their work friendship evolves throughout the movie is heartwarming. Bryan Cranston plays this role so well and he made it so believable. I truly felt for his character and was able to really feel what he is going through physically and emotionally.

I truly disliked Nicole Kidman's character in the beginning but the way they transform her cold soul to a caring and loving business partner of Phillip's, is quite sweet. She truly cares about Phillip and it begins to show near the final act of the film.

If there is one thing that I think should have changed is was to see more of her emotion with Cranston earlier in the film. By the time the end of this film comes, I truly had my heart in it and just wanted to be able to be a help to Phillip like Dell was.

Their friendship is something truly special because when it comes down to it, they both needed each other to move forward in their lives and what they do for one another is really special. What ends the film is what makes this film work as a whole.

The performances and chemistry from Hart and Cranston and telling a sad but inspirational story that connects you with things in your life and how no matter what, you can always make things better. This is why I enjoyed it.

It made me laugh and filled my heart with warmth and care .