Hart is at his best on stage!

Film Review
Tinashe Kusema

Let me start off this week’s review by getting a few things off my chest.

Insofar as celebrity duos are concerned, I do care much for Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Kevin Hart.

However, I find their social media annoying, especially when they are promoting a project together, and I hope history will judge them harshly for ruining the “Jumanji” movie.

And I am pretty sure Robin Williams — God rest his soul — would, if he was still alive.

Both are one-dimensional actors who have no range, and should stick to what they do best.

Kevin Hart is at his best on stage and should stick to stand-up comedy.

But Dwayne Johnson should either find a new career path, given that the 48-year-old has clearly lost his wrestling mojo, or, God forbid, continue on his franchise-destroying streak.

Either way, I do not care.

I firmly believe he is beyond redemption.

I only bring the two up because I recently bumped into Hart’s latest Netflix comedy special, “Zero F**ks Given”, and it kind of restored my faith in him.

I almost feel bad for badmouthing him earlier.

Released at the tail-end of 2020, the hour-long special gives an in-depth look into the 41-year-old’s personal life, addressing issues like fame, group chats with his male friends, sex, his accident and life under a pandemic.

Covid-19 plays a huge part in the entire show, as the special was shot in his living room, with a small audience who were all asked to observe the necessary health protocols.

The fact that he pulls it off — successfully, might I add — is just testimony to his talent, stage presence and gift.

It is nothing like the stadiums, auditoriums and comedy clubs the famed comedian is used to, but he has enough stage presence and energy to keep the audience, both sitting and viewing, entertained and captivated.

It takes comedians like the Eddie Murphy, Chris Rock, Dave Chappelle and Richard Pryors to pull something like this off.

And it goes without saying that Hart will one day take his place amongst these names on the Mount Rushmore of his craft.

Hart apparently has pictures in his hallway of Murphy and Pryor, whom he calls an inspiration and the G.O.A.T in the special.

Yes, the pictures were likely put in there as some Easter egg, but the fact that he talks about their influence constantly adds weight to the statement.

Given that I can’t really go into detail about the jokes and contents of the special, even if I wanted to, the fact of the matter is that “Zero F**ks Given” is certainly a collector’s item.

Its vintage Kevin Hart as the 41-year-old pokes fun at his family unit, telling jokes about his now teenage kids as they start dating and continue on their journey into adulthood.

This has been one of the hallmarks of every Hart special, as we were first introduced to Hart’s kids when they were toddlers in “Laugh at My Pain” back 2011.

It could have been in 2009’s “I’m a Grown Little Man” — my memory is a bit fuzzy.

Hart also addresses the Covid-19 pandemic, or the Vid as he calls it, opening up on his experiences with the virus, and the fact that he was one of the first high-profile celebrities that tested positive.

It is here where Hart makes the only blemish of an otherwise near-perfect special.

To him I say, “Mr Hart, in as far as pop culture goes, David Hasselhoff is bigger than Kevin Hart.

“Ask anyone worth their salt and they will tell you that they know who Michael Knight and Mitch Buchannon are.

“However, I am willing to bet that no one across all age groups can tell you who Jimmy Callahan, Cedric, Anthony Johnson or Nashawn Wade are without the use of google”.

For the millennials reading this instalment, Michael Knight and Mitch Buchannon are two iconic characters.

Hasselhoff played in the television series “Knight Rider” and “Baywatch”.

Fun fact: Baywatch is another franchise Dwayne Johnson got his mitts on and almost ruined.

Callahan, Cedric, Johnson and Wade are three of Kevin Hart’s most popular characters taken from the movies “Wedding Ringer”, “Think Like a Man”, “Jumanji” and “Soul Plane”.

The above rhetoric will make more sense when one watches the special.

Hart does redeem himself later in the special by addressing some of the hot topics surrounding the comedian’s life and career.

Top of that list is obviously catching the virus, but he also addresses fame, the power and influence of social media, his infidelity issues and, most importantly, his accident in 2019.

 

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