ALSO SHOWING
The Upside Cert: 12A; Now showing
French films can get away with things that just don’t make the cut elsewhere — and this is a prime example. On its initial release in 2011, Gallic gadabout Intouchables was a huge success — despite its inherent race and class cliches and some full-on mawkishness.
Now given the Hollywood treatment, this US remake works on the level of its central bromance and some of the humour — but falls harder at the cliche and emotional hurdles.
Dell (Kevin Hart) is a parolee who almost accidentally gets the job of carer to depressed and rich quadriplegic Phil (Bryan Cranston). Phil is suicidal so an unqualified carer seems perfect to him, if not to his friend and defender Yvonne (Nicole Kidman).
The two very different men become friends and learn from each other, and on this level it works. The leads are good and good together. But despite a long run time, other issues are not developed in what is very much a remake and not a reworking.