About Last Night
About Last Night is a light, sexy and overall enjoyable film starring the irrepressible Kevin Hart. Regina Hall, Michael Ealy and Joy Bryant also make this fun film about relationships, hooking up, the morning after, and everything that transpires from there. Broad humor, feel good laughs, and a nice time are in store, although this is not the most deep and artistic film I’ve ever seen. Some scenes are very funny, some fall just a bit flat, but overall it’s a good time and just what you might need to get over a bad day, or a broken heart.
Bernie, played by Kevin Hart, is trying to help his best friend Danny get over an old relationship. It’s been a year since Danny had a girlfriend. Danny is serious and quiet compared to Bernie’s wild and hysterical ways. Then they both separately meet roommates Joan and Debbie. Other than living together, the two roommates could not be more different. Joan is wild and crazy, Debbie is serious and hard-working. Yet they get along well, until Debbie soon announces she is moving out to live with Danny. Romance ensues for both couples, they make up, break up, and generally move the story along nicely.
The film is a remake of the 1986 film of the same name starring Demi Moore and Rob Lowe, which itself is from the David Mamet play called Sexual Perversity in Chicago. David Mamet’s original play, which premiered in 1974, established him as a major playwright, although he later disavowed the earlier film version of his play.
About Last Night is capably directed by Steve Pink, who also directed Accepted and High Fidelity. Accepted is a favorite of mine, a comedy you can watch again and again. It features one of the earlier roles of Jonah Hill that made us first notice his comedic gifts.
This film is shot largely in downtown Los Angeles, and, although it is not directed by a black director, can be considered part of a renaissance of black films as most of the cast is black. Along with other films such as Twelve Years a Slave, Butler, the Best Man on Holiday, not to mention the prolific Tyler Perry, it’s about time folks of color became more a part of mainstream American filmmaking.
The film is also a sort of love story to LA, similar to the way Manhattan Woody Allen’s film of some years ago featured New York City. You can admire the sunsets, the Dodgers, the skyline, and all the fun and romance of the city without leaving the theatre.
While this film will not rank as one of the top movies of 2014, it is enjoyable and light and features the impressive comic talents of Kevin Hart. The rest of the cast capably keeps up with him, and all in all you could do much worse for a night out.