Film Review - The Upside (12A)

Have you ever taken care of anybody?

I'm at a disadvantage here, inasmuch as I've yet to see the French original on which The Upside is based. Hollywood's history of adapting successful European films is checkered at best, and fans of 2011's Les Intouchables are apparently not best pleased at the result. Something other than the language, they insist, doesn't translate. Me, I'm not placed to make that comparison. Taken on its own terms this comedy-drama, while problematic at points, is far from the catastrophe some are claiming. It's not perfect, but it is perfectly enjoyable.

Kevin Hart plays Dell Scott, an unemployed ex-convict with a hefty chip on his shoulder and a cavalier attitude to providing for his ex-partner and young son. Forced to apply for jobs in order to avoid return to prison, he attends interview for the position of 'care auxiliary' to Phillip Lacasse (Bryan Cranston), a millionaire businessman who was rendered paraplegic by a paragliding accident. He is shocked - as is Phillip's business secretary Yvonne (Nicole Kidman) - to find himself actually hired. Thus begins an unlikely relationship and even odder friendship between novice under-class carer and his wealthy, cultivated charge, with each discovering they have a lot to gain from the other.

You can tell from that outline that this is the kind of story lending itself to one of those personal development story-arcs full of caring/sharing/learning moments - the kind that only truly work when treated with a really deft touch. If The Upside has an issue it's that the plot beats are predictable and their delivery rather too heavy-handed. These are complex issues being dealt with - class and race division, poverty versus privilege, disability and the failure of the able-bodied to see beyond it - and they need to be delivered organically through the drama rather than shoved right into the audience's face. It's an undeniable failing in what might otherwise have been a terrific film.

Elsewhere the work is strong. Neil Burger directs it all solidly and the cinematography has a raw digital feel to it rather than high-definition gloss, something that works with the edgier elements of the screenplay. The performances are excellent, with sparkling chemistry between the two leads. Hart has an enjoyably loose comic style that's capable of elevating weaker material than this (I'm looking at you, Night School) and here he gets to demonstrate some proper dramatic chops as well. Cranston brings his customary class and depth to the role of Phillip, whatever rumblings there are regarding whether or not a disabled actor should have been cast in the role (now that's a whole other topic for a whole other blog entry). A genuine sense of connection exists between them - laugh-out-loud vitality that brings the relationship to life. Kidman is good too, investing the devoted but brittle Yvonne with real dimension in what could have been a cipher of a role. The household becomes a weird but strangely functional family and it's undeniably good fun.

Remember all that when you read some of the more scathing reviews on offer. True things fall into place rather too easily in a story fraught with tough situations - the movie could do with more real-life raggedness rather than those smoothed-off Hollywood curves and easy cliches. But it's also well-intentioned, energetic and makes some worthwhile observations (even if it hammers them home rather too hard). I do want to watch Les Intouchables, so I can make fair comparison, but I'll endeavour to steer clear of that 'other-is-better' snobbery that infects some film criticism when it comes to reviewing Hollywood product. Even English-language remakes deserve to be considered for their own merits. Including this one. 

Gut Reaction: Irked by the more obvious plotting, but I also laughed heartily more than once. 

Memorable Moment: The braving of the catheter.

Ed's Verdict: 6.5/10. Too soapy and predictable to be truly great, there's still good entertainment here - largely due to that spirited central dynamic.