A nice mix of romance and comedy
Night School, with Kevin Hart, Tiffany Haddish and Megalyn Echikunwoke, directed by Malcom D Lee. 4/5
If you are into comedy and a bit of romance, then Night School should be right up your alley.
Teddy Walker (Kevin Hart) is a successful salesman whose life takes an unexpected turn when he accidentally blows up his place of employment.
Forced to attend night school to get his GED, Teddy soon finds himself dealing with a group of misfit students, his former high school nemesis, and a feisty teacher who doesn’t think he’s too bright.
Teddy has been called dumb most of his life.
Back in high school he freaked out while taking a standardised test and dropped out. Still, Teddy has carved out a successful career selling barbecue equipment and has a beautiful fiancée Lisa (Megalyn Echikunwoke), though he goes to great financial lengths to impress and keep her around.
After accidentally setting his workplace ablaze, Teddy’s best friend Marvin (Ben Schwartz) tells him he can organise him a job as a financial adviser if Teddy can get his GED.
This sees him going back to his high school, where an old rival is now the hard-nosed principal, Steward (a scene-stealing Taran Killam).
The night class is taught by Carrie (Tiffany Haddish), an overworked but truly caring teacher.
There are some emotional moments when Carrie takes Teddy aside to figure out why he’s having trouble learning.
When Teddy is faced with maths and word problems, shapes and letters jump off the page and buzz around him like bothersome bees.
Teddy then gets help from Carrie through a special study method to help him try to focus and remember what he has learnt.
However, Teddy goes on to write and fail his GED several times, but nevertheless, he is not willing to quit.
With both humour and poignancy, this is definitely a movie to see if you are into romance and want to laugh at the same time.