Night School

Score:  B

Directed by Malcolm D. Lee
Starring Kevin Hart, Tiffany Haddish, Taran Killam, Rob Riggle
Running time:  111 minutes
Rated PG-13

Long Story Short:  Night School teams up two of the hottest comedians, Kevin Hart and Tiffany Haddish, in a goofy but relevant premise.  It does not adhere at all to the modern comedy tone, and replaces self-aware cleverness with riotous, simple yet strong verbal sparring to keep you laughing.  A strong supporting cast helps drive the film.  Recommended.


Teddy (Hart) is living his dream, albeit precariously - he is a clever if modestly-paid barbecue salesman, and he has just engaged a successful, beautiful woman (Echikunwoke) who believes his tall tales of business brilliance.  However, an accident leaves Teddy jobless and he quickly finds that, as a high school dropout, his options are extremely limited.  A friend promises a lucrative financial job for him if he can just get his GED, so he signs up for night school at a local high school, expecting a quick and easy process.  But he confronts an all-business, tough-as-nails instructor (Haddish), and an old nemesis (Killam) from school who's now the principal.  Teddy soon begins to strain under keeping the illusion alive to his fiancee while also diving back into the same problems he confronted in high school.  Fail at one, and he fears the rest of his life will soon follow.

Night School has an impressive comedic ensemble that goes beyond the two headlining stars.  Kevin Hart, one of my favorite contemporary comedians, does quite well in the lead role as Teddy.  This might be the first time I've seen him in a more conventional, solo lead role, and he impresses.  It's often hard for this type of role to standout comedically, as it's usually saddled with anchoring the story, but fortunately Hart is blessed with the virtuoso talent at performing required to overcome that.  Tiffany Haddish's role is smaller than I expected, but she does very well at delivering her trademark hilariously tough attitude while maintaining believability and sincerity in her narrative role as night school teacher.  Taran Killam, a former (and underrated) SNL cast member, is sneakily good as the villainous principal, adjusting his usual style to match his co-stars' and the movie itself.  The supporting cast gets a surprisingly large role, overall, perhaps expanded during filming due to how good they are.  Rob Riggle, Romany Malco, Mary Lynn Rajskub, and Anne Winters match Killam's skill in lining up with the tone of the film, arguably even playing a big part in shaping it themselves.

Night School is a throwback, broad comedy that works perfectly well in that role, though is ultimately also somewhat limited by it as well.  I think it's important to emphasize that this is not the stylistic direction that most contemporary popular comedies have been going, but the unapologetic, back-to-basics tone is quite welcome.  The effort could have resulted in a train wreck, had the writing either been lazy or tried to sneak back to the current norms, or if the cast had not been fully committed to just having a good time and leaving their egos in their trailers.  While it gets off to a bit of a bumpy start (this may have just been my adjusting to the film's tone), the film quickly settles into a nice pace.  Even Hart's performance is a little off at first, but once he gets to meet the other main players, particularly Haddish and his night school classmates, it all begins to jell immediately.  Most of the film's humor comes from the somewhat simplistic but well-crafted dialogue; still, there are also some standout sets, which are particularly important in this kind of comedy.  These include the night-schoolers attempt to break in at, well, night to steal an upcoming test, and an exasperated Haddish literally whipping Hart - wearing a Christian chicken suit (long story) - back to his senses.  But the funniest to me was an indulgently long, clearly improvised introduction of the night school class, both playing with stereotypes in a funny but sensitive way as well as piling on Hart as a clueless but charming victim which is where he shines brightest.  It's probably a little too long, but the film keeps the plotting fairly minimal while also ending on a surprisingly poignant message about the strength of those whole struggle on the fringes of society.

***

Night School is another pleasant entry in what has been a very strong year for comedies.  Critics, unfortunately, must not have seen the same movie that I did.  I truly think it comes down to expectations: they simply were thrown by its simple, back-to-basics style, significantly different from other entries in the genre.  And I might be overrating it a touch myself, having seen it in a theater full of people who found it absolutely hilarious (and it was contagious).  But beyond even the quality of the film - which is pretty high anyway - I see this variety in style to be all to the good, rather than a negative.  Just like we all hope to see more original stories and ideas from Hollywood, this too is a great way to keep things fresh and interesting.  I recommend this seeing this movie, particularly with a packed audience, but just keep in mind it may not be what you expect and I think you'll enjoy it.



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