About Last Night could have gone in two directions: Play it safe and make easy money like 2012's Think like a Man; or gamble the R rating, become more realistic, and resemble the likes of Best Man Holiday.
The gamble was taken, and the payoff is far better than expected. About Last Night finally allows Kevin Hart off the leash and the results are amazing. He also has a comedic rival in the female category with Regina Hall, who stands toe-to-toe with his insanity and doesn't back down. The end result is a romantic dramedy that despite lacking in laughs in favor of drama delivers an entertaining movie that will go down as one that took risks, just not enough of them.
The main risk was the well-earned yet respectably mature R rating. Your best movies about relationships usually tend to be those that do not shy away from the more mature subjects and aren't afraid of baring it all physically and emotionally. The Before Sunrise trilogy and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind are the better modern examples. About Last Night never exaggerates to earn the rating, instead exposes one-night stands, relationships, sex, emotional growth, and all the complications amongst these subjects with no red tape to stop it—ultimately establishing itself as a more mature film in its usual cinematic genre.
It wasn't just the honesty that gives About Last Night its edge above its usual contemporaries. It boasts a great (besides Bruno Mars' latest album) soundtrack that incorporates a healthy dosage of jazz and blues, employs a script with good dialogue, and is directed and edited nice and tight for that it never really overstays its welcome. Most importantly, the chemistry amongst the leads is off the charts. Regina Hall and Kevin Hart are nearly flawless together, as their banter and angry love provide the most laughs and some of the best moments in the movie. Not to be undone, the more dramatic relationship between Joy Bryant and Michael Ealy was very much believable and carried the emotional weight of the entire film.
What ultimately bogs down About Last Night is that it doesn't quite dig deep enough into the psyche of modern-day relationships. The 1980 version of About Last Night and the play that it's based on were both brutally realistic as well as critical of the time period and the views of relationships amongst the culture. With this version, we see the who, the what, and the where, but don't enough of the why. It lacks the subtle commentary like what we saw in Her, it lacks the explanation as to why it's become more difficult nowadays for marriages and long-lasting relationships to survive.
One of the quietly scary trends nowadays is the deterioration of the American marriage, especially amongst minorities like Hispanics and Blacks. This movie could have broken even more ground if this had been explored and expanded upon the concept of Sexual Perversion in Chicago, the original stage play. The play is 40 years old, maybe its time for an update?
Mediocre movies remain in shallow waters. Riskier movies swim deeper. And the best of the best fully dive in and risk all the consequences. About Last Night lands somewhere in the middle, but nonetheless is an entertaining movie with good performances and good chemistry. This movie will not embed itself in romantic drama history, but will leave a nice impression throughout the year—especially from rising star Kevin Hart and the underrated talent of Regina Hall, Joy Bryant, and Michael Ealy.
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