Comedy drama fails to amuse
The upside, with Bryan Cranston, Kevin Hart and Nicole Kidman, directed by Neil Burger. 3/5
It is difficult to review this movie mainly due to the fact that, while packed with decent actors and a comedian, it is neither a classical drama nor a comedy, but possibly something in between.
Based on a true story, billionaire Philip Laccasse (Bryan Cranston) is a quadriplegic due to a para-gliding accident. The once successful businessman is now stuck in bed, unable to use his arms or legs and totally dependent on others to assist him with all his daily tasks. We also learn that, following the accident, Laccasse’s wife died of cancer leaving him with little reason to live.
Laccasse’s business manager, Yvonne Pendleton (Nicole Kidman), begins an interview process to hire a caregiver for her boss when ex-con on parole, Dell Scott (Kevin Hart), straight from a meeting with his parole officer, attends for his interview. Although he has no idea what the job entails, which Pendleton sees immediately, she concedes to Laccasse’s decision to hire Scott anyway.
There begins an unlikely friendship between Scott and Laccasse that leads to a number of incidents including a car-chase with cops (the opening scene) when Scott is discovered speeding. Scott tells the police officers that Laccasse is having a seizure and, when they see that his passenger is a quadriplegic they provide a police escort to the nearest hospital for Scott and his passenger.
Scott has his own problems, being estranged from his wife and young son he has the opportunity to return to his criminal ways but refuses to do so.
The story progresses, somewhat slowly and, considering the abilities in terms of comedy from both Cranston and Hart, and the acting abilities of Kidman and Cranston, the movie doesn’t really get any better than the opening scene.
It is perhaps a little unfair to say that the movie is a damp squib but, according to reports, the original French version was far more dramatic. The Upside is full of clichés and incidents that, should the screenplay writer (Jon Harmere) have taken more time, could have been a lot more humorous.
However, there are a number of mildly humorous moments that Cranston and Hart fail to seize and make good on, rather allowing the movie to hobble along, but it is not up to the standard that we know these actors are capable of. One is left at the end of the movie wondering what it was really all about. The movie is the third remake of the French film
(2011), there having been two other foreign-language versions that preceded it, the Argentine and an Indian version,
(both released in 2016). Of some interest is that the film could have been released earlier in 2018 but for a moratorium on movies associated with US producer Harvey Weinstein after his alleged criminal activities.