“Kevin Hart: What Now?”

Starring: Kevin Hart, Halle Berry

Director: Leslie Small, Tim Story

Rating: R for some sexual material, and language throughout

Playing at: Regal Bowling Green Stadium 12, Highland Cinemas (Glasgow)

Grade: C

Kevin Hart has certainly made a name for himself in film and comedy, but the comedian seems to be a rather polarizing figure.

His fans enjoy his frenetic style, while others find him loud and irritating. I tend to be in the middle, which is probably why I am middle of the road with his latest project, “Kevin Hart: What Now?”

Hart’s third concert film does have some moments of inspired comedy, but compared with concert films from the likes of Richard Pryor and Eddie Murphy (and even Chris Rock’s HBO specials) it is clear he isn’t quite up to that level.

“What Now?” was filmed during his recent tour that culminated in selling out Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, with more than 50,000 people in attendance. Hart brings plenty of energy to the proceedings, but the topics sometimes don’t quite play to a movie theater crowd like they appeared to play to those at the show (there are a lot of shots of the audience yucking it up during jokes that fall flat on the screen).

When Hart focuses on a late-night check of his house with his father or his first trip to Starbucks or why sometimes it is better to make up a story to your loved one because the truth sounds too unbelievable there is humor and insight that rivals Pryor and Murphy and Rock. 

But for every moment like that there are stretches where Hart veers off the rails. A long rant about what would happen if someone didn’t have shoulders isn’t funny enough for a passing joke, let alone an extended stretch, and a recurring joke about a raccoon terrorizing his house isn’t funny the first time, let alone the sixth or seventh reference.

There is also a James Bond spoof as a wraparound story to the concert footage, which features cameos from Halle Berry, Don Cheadle and others. It doesn’t really bring anything much to the film – with the exception of one great angry monologue from Cheadle – other than padding the run time about 20 minutes.

Ultimately “What Now?” comes down to how much of Hart you can handle in one sitting. If you are a fan of his work, then this will be perfectly fine. If not, I don’t think “What Now?” has enough to win you over.

 

DVD dandy of the week

A light week in theaters makes for a perfect week to catch up on one of the more underrated films of the summer – “Captain Fantastic” (A-) – the quirky family drama that hopefully finds an audience on DVD.

“Captain Fantastic” tells the story of Ben (Viggo Mortensen), living with his wife Leslie (Trin Miller) and their six kids off the grid deep in the woods in the Pacific Northwest. When Leslie becomes ill and eventually passes away, Ben is forced to bring the kids into society where his in-laws (including Frank Langella and Steve Zahn) challenge his idea of raising his children and threaten to remove the kids from his custody.

This is a film that could have easily gotten off track and been either too sappy or played like a bad sitcom, but writer/director Matt Ross approaches the story with the right eye to create something offbeat, but not overdone. These feel like real people in real situations, which keeps the audience invested in all the character’s plights.

Mortensen gives a strong performance as the determined father, set in his ways, but the kids are very good too. Nicholas Hamilton is the standout, as the oldest son who wants to live his own life and not the one his father has created for him.

It all adds up to one of 2016’s biggest surprises and one of the summer’s hidden gems.

“Captain Fantastic” is rated R for language and brief graphic nudity and will be available on DVD on Tuesday.

— To read Micheal Compton’s review of “American Honey” visit his blog at bgdailynews.com/blogs/reel_to_reel or follow him Twitter @mcompton428.