About Last Night
SoberFilmChick




Directed by: Steve Pink

Starring: Kevin Hart, Michael Ealy, Regina Hall, Joy Bryant, Adam Rodriguez, and Paula Patton

Kevin Hart is without question the comedian of the moment.  With sold out arenas for his comedy tour across the country, a hit television show on BET, and his appearance in every movie trailer imaginable, Hart is clearly riding high.  2014 has already started out with a bang for Hart with his hit movie Ride Along, which has grossed $116 million domestically.  With the new remake of 1986’s About Last Night, Hart now has two movies in the “top ten” at the box office. Moreover, About Last Night is an enjoyable R-rated romantic comedy.

In the film, Bernie (Hart) and Joan (Regina Hall) meet one night while out partying in Los Angeles, California.  They have an instant sexual chemistry and literally attack each other in the bedroom.  The next night, Bernie and Joan schedule a date, but because everything moved so quickly the first night, they bring along their best friends as buffers.  Bernie brings his friend and co-worker Danny (Michael Ealy) to the double date, and Joan brings her roommate Debbie (Joy Bryant).  During the night, Joan and Bernie get completely wasted, act inappropriately and head to the bathroom for toilet sex.  Danny and Debbie are suitably mortified and sit awkwardly in the midst of this display.  Eventually, they begin to talk and Danny offers to walk Debbie home.   Ultimately, they sleep together on the first night.

Danny and Debbie, however, are not sure where the relationship is going.  Danny is incredibly interested in Debbie, but he is reluctant to get into a serious relationship after he was dumped by his previous girlfriend Alison (Paula Patton).  Debbie, on the other hand, is simply jaded and initially does not want to invest herself in love.  Despite their reservations, Danny and Debbie fast track their relationship and dive into love.  Meanwhile, Joan and Bernie continue their loud, rowdy, and brash love/hate relationship.  But as time passes and real life issues like unsatisfactory careers, holidays and past lovers arise, both couples realize they may have moved too quickly.  The film follows Bernie, Joan, Danny and Debbie as they navigate the pitfalls of one night stands and new relationships.

About Last Night is an entertaining, if predictable, romantic comedy.   Kevin Hart and Regina Hall are the real stars of the film.  Though Hart’s schtick can occasionally be annoying and overbearing at times, it works in About Last Night.  More importantly, Hart has finally found his onscreen match with Regina Hall.  Hall is simply underrated as a comedic actress.  Her scenes in the Scary Movie franchise were really the only truly hilarious ones.  She is as loud and “in your face” as Kevin Hart is, and it works.  There is one sex scene in the film involving Hart, Hall, role playing and a chicken that literally had me in tears.  Seeing these two actors feed off of each other is a real treat.  The comedic chemistry between Hall and Hart is impressive and unequivocally drives the film.

On the other hand, their straight man foils, Ealy and Bryant, are a little dull.  Initially, I thought I was judging them too harshly because it is hard to step into the shoes of 80’s icons Demi Moore and Rob Lowe.  However, this remake of About Last Night is set many years later, in a differently locale, with a predominantly African American cast.  So I honestly did not find myself comparing these actors to their predecessors.  Unfortunately, Ealy and Bryant are simply not that compelling.  While they do have onscreen chemistry, their storyline is so dry and predictable that I found myself waiting for Hart or Hall to enter the room.  Surprisingly, Ealy and Bryant did not even have sexy love scenes.  The more explicit love scenes were left to Hart and Hall for comedic effect.  Yet, Ealy and Bryant’s love scenes generally fade to black.  Hall and Hart’s characters call Ealy and Bryant dull and boring, and unfortunately, they live up to that.  Bryant was probably the least interesting of the four characters, and I would have enjoyed seeing Zoe Saldana or an actress with more of a spark, play the role of Debbie.

Overall, About Last Night is an entertaining entry into the romantic comedy genre, and another hit for its star Kevin Hart.  About Last Night earns a 0.06% rating.  Have a nice glass of sangria while you enjoy this one.