The Upside - Movie Review
The Upside
Plot: A comedic look at the relationship between a wealthy man with quadriplegia and an unemployed man with a criminal record who's hired to help him.
Cast: Kevin Hart, Bryan Cranston, Nicole Kidman, Golshifteh Farahani
Director: Neil Burger
Certificate: 12A (scenes of drug misuse, moderate sex references,
language)
Runtime: 126 minutes
Release Date: Friday 11th January 2019
Based on a true friendship and originally a French movie released in 2012 (Untouchable), The Upside stars Bryan Cranston as a quadriplegic millionaire who is in need of a new carer that comes in the form of ex-criminal, Kevin Hart. Untouchable is immeasurably touching and heartfelt and so it seemed like an inevitability that Hollywood would eventually pick it up. After initially premiering all the way back in 2017, The Upside finally gets its worldwide release and despite the title, the film has more downs than ups.
Without wanting to sound like a snooty and uptight cinephile, the French version is far superior to this Hollywoodised product. Where The Upside falters is that director, Neil Burger, is trying too hard to make the film flashy and modern that it begins to lose sight of the humanity within these characters. In Untouchable, Olivier Nakache and Éric Toledano directed a beautiful tribute to two close friends and didn't rely on fast, choppy editing but instead, the chemistry of its two leads (François Cluzet and Omar Sy) and heartfelt relationship to be front and centre. With The Upside, Burger is causing too much of a distraction for this relationship to truly thrive. Cranston and Hart are both marvellous in these roles with Hart displaying a much more vulnerable side to him that we've seen before and far less of a caricature. Cranston, as always, is an acting behemoth and eats roles like these for breakfast but it's when the two are allowed to share elongated scenes together, that the chemistry does begin to spark. And yet, once again, I find myself making the claim that Untouchable did it better still.
Plot: A comedic look at the relationship between a wealthy man with quadriplegia and an unemployed man with a criminal record who's hired to help him.
Cast: Kevin Hart, Bryan Cranston, Nicole Kidman, Golshifteh Farahani
Director: Neil Burger
Certificate: 12A (scenes of drug misuse, moderate sex references,
language)
Runtime: 126 minutes
Release Date: Friday 11th January 2019
Based on a true friendship and originally a French movie released in 2012 (Untouchable), The Upside stars Bryan Cranston as a quadriplegic millionaire who is in need of a new carer that comes in the form of ex-criminal, Kevin Hart. Untouchable is immeasurably touching and heartfelt and so it seemed like an inevitability that Hollywood would eventually pick it up. After initially premiering all the way back in 2017, The Upside finally gets its worldwide release and despite the title, the film has more downs than ups.
Without wanting to sound like a snooty and uptight cinephile, the French version is far superior to this Hollywoodised product. Where The Upside falters is that director, Neil Burger, is trying too hard to make the film flashy and modern that it begins to lose sight of the humanity within these characters. In Untouchable, Olivier Nakache and Éric Toledano directed a beautiful tribute to two close friends and didn't rely on fast, choppy editing but instead, the chemistry of its two leads (François Cluzet and Omar Sy) and heartfelt relationship to be front and centre. With The Upside, Burger is causing too much of a distraction for this relationship to truly thrive. Cranston and Hart are both marvellous in these roles with Hart displaying a much more vulnerable side to him that we've seen before and far less of a caricature. Cranston, as always, is an acting behemoth and eats roles like these for breakfast but it's when the two are allowed to share elongated scenes together, that the chemistry does begin to spark. And yet, once again, I find myself making the claim that Untouchable did it better still.
There is no denying that the story for both of these films is hardly groundbreaking in any way. They're simplistic, heartwarming tales of finding friendship in the unlikeliest of places and allowing others to bring out the best in yourself. However, The Upside follows the same layout beat for beat to the point where it even opens with the exact shot as the original. All that's happened is the actors have changed and now they speak English. Otherwise, for those that are seemingly incapable of watching a film with subtitles, The Upside is a complete repetition. There are marginal differences as Dell (Hart) is struggling to connect with his son rather than a more complex situation presented by Sy, and a hefty focus on Cranston's chief executive, played by a severely underutilised Nicole Kidman, but neither of these have a drastic impact on the film. The humour is there and for those that haven't seen Untouchable, it'll likely draw a few laughs yet none that will linger for long. Comparing the two is like comparing DisneyWorld to Diggerland. Both provide a sense of enjoyment with one leaps and bounds above the other.
The Upside, on its own terms, is a fine film but nothing special. Its plot is predictable and bursting with clichés yet solace can be found in the charismatic pairing of Hart and Cranston. Unfortunately, it lives in the giant shadow of the original lacking the all-important heart and sheer delight. If this review can aim to do anything, it isn't to avoid seeing The Upside. It's to implore you to see Untouchable.
My Verdict: 5/10
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