The Upside movie review

MOVIE TITLE: THE UPSIDE

RATING: PG-13

LENGTH: 2 hours 5 minutes

Movie Review Mom GRADE: A-

IN A NUTSHELL: I LOVED it! It’s uplifting, heart-warming, funny, and even charming at times. I admit I actually got a little teary-eyed. Sure, there are some plausibility holes in the story, despite it being based on true events. In the end, you feel good and you want to do something good for someone. That’s never a bad thing, right?

It’s actually a remake of a French movie called Intouchables, which I have never seen (YET). I hear it was actually the most successful French film in history in several European countries. I guess I need to add that to my watch list. Omar Sy even won an award in the movie, the French equivalent of an Academy Award, and was the first black man in France to do so. Apparently, a bunch of the negative reviews on IMDB and YouTube were posted 2 YEARS ago, before this movie even hit the Big Screen in the USA. Stupid trolls. Is the original that good that people have to rate this movie so harshly without even seeing it? Loyal trolls?

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

There are a couple of scenes that involve changing a quadriplegic’s catheter and all of the humor and awkwardness you would expect that would include.
You see a tatted-up Kevin Hart without a shirt on.
There is a brief expression on a woman’s face who is…ummm…enjoying being in bed with her husband.
Two men get high on marijuana
Profanity a couple of times, but there is also 1 F-bomb.
Talk about a “blue” pill and what happens
Two men spend time with prostitutes
Talk of pornography in a couple of scenes
Some alcohol.

THEMES:

Second chances
The pain of losing a loved one.
“Money doesn’t buy you everything.” – Phil (Bryan Cranston)
Economic barriers
Race
Friendship
Hope

THINGS I LIKED:

I usually don’t like Kevin Hart because he plays the same doggone, screaming character in every movie, but I really enjoyed him in this movie. He did well with the drama and, of course, shined when he needed to with his comedic chops. I was truly impressed.
Bryan Cranston. Who doesn’t love him? My entire family loved that TV show. My kids have watched each Malcolm in the Middle: Season 1 episode about 100 times. We laughed that he was in his underwear in almost every episode, making him perfectly cast for all those underwear meth-cooking scenes in Breaking Bad: The Complete Series He’s great in both comedy and drama. For him to not move around in this movie had to have been extremely hard for him!
There is a discussion about DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) which is something you and your loved ones should talk about.
I’d like to check out that awesome German shower!
I had never heard Aretha Franklin sing Nessun Dorma before! Wow! You need to see that. Click here: https://youtu.be/EUtTApq3WuQ
I loved the way Julianna Margulies’ character explained the Shel Silverstein book The Missing Piece What a great metaphor in this movie. Bryan Cranston’s character says, “That’s really deep for a child’s book.” Indeed.
A lot of beautiful classical music.
It’s hard to make Nicole Kidman look plain and pretty at the same time, but they managed to pull it off. She’s great in everything she does and is currently on the Big Screen in another movie right now: Aquaman! Fans can pre-order Aquaman (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital) (4K Ultra HD) on Amazon.
I got a kick out of how Phil handled his annoying neighbor Carter, played well by Tate Donovan.
Aja Naomi King is so pretty. She performed in several Yale University School of Drama productions. Pretty AND smart! You might have seen her in Blue Bloods: Complete Series 1-8 Entire Seasons on DVD or Person of Interest: Season 1. She did a great job in her emotional range.
January is notorious for terrible new movie releases, but so far, we’re off to a very good start this month!

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

Some of the color-correction seemed off. What was the deal with that?
There were some things in the story that just didn’t seem quite believable. Just ignore them and enjoy watching Bryan Cranston and Kevin Hart together.
I haven’t paid any attention at all to Kevin Hart’s Tweets lately (or ever), but apparently, the LGBTQ community is offended by some of the scenes that had to do with his character changing a man’s catheter and touching another man’s private parts, considering what he Tweeted. I have no idea what they’re all talking about. Everyone is so easily offended nowadays and angry at everything. Have you noticed that? People need to just calm down and try to be a little kinder.
Other people are offended by the racial and economic storylines and wished the roles/colors had been switched.

FUNNY LINES:

“What are you passionate about?” – Phil

“I don’t know. Women. Sleeping. Sleeping with women.” – Dell

“That’s hard to monetize.” Phil

“I got friends who would disagree.” – Dell

“Are you drunk?” – Dell

“Just on your winning attitude.” – Phil

“My dad was an artist. ” – Dell
“Tell me the last time you worked hard to solve a problem.” – job interviewer

“This morning when I had to get out of bed.” – Dell

“You’re water-boarding me.” – Phil

INTERESTING LINES:

“Lateral thinking is like art.” – Phil
“Find something you’re good at and find a way to scale it.” – Phil on how to build a successful business
“Everybody’s a poet.” – Dell
“People make mistakes.” – Phil

“I don’t know. I’ve made so many.” – Dell