[yasr_overall_rating]
When millionaire James King is nailed for fraud and bound for San Quentin, he turns to Darnell Lewis to prep him to go behind bars.
From the beginning, this film had all the ingredients necessary to build a solid production with poplar comedians, great supporting actors, a good plot and amazing California imagery. In his Directorial debut, Etan Cohen, should be congratulated for his attempt to attack stereotypes and force his audience to find humor in the irrational behavior of those who live their lives in the ignorance of their own mindsets. I’m not certain though, if directing his own work made him overconfident, or the consensus of his co-writers, Jay Martel and Ian Roberts, made it easier to overuse a played out theme, over and over again. Will Ferrell plays the role of James King, who as a successful white businessman and Stock Market Guru, has made a nice life for himself.
He is a longtime customer of Darnell Lewis (Kevin Hart), a black man who has his own car washing business, Hollywood Luxury Bubbles, on the bottom floor of the building where James works. While Darnell struggles daily to make enough money to provide for his family, his most immediate goal is to raise $30,000 to move into a new house. When he propositions James for a lifetime car-washing deal for the same amount, James shuts him down and advises him that the only way to be successful is to work hard. In the midst of making plans to marry his boss’ daughter Alissa (Alison Brie), James suddenly gets arrested for fraud, and is given thirty days to prepare to go to San Quentin.
Afraid for his life and given few alternatives to prepare for a life he never imagined, James resorts to calling on Darnell to prepare him for prison, assuming that as a black man, he would have firsthand experience. For a small price ($30,000), Darnell, who has never been to jail, decides to give in to the stereotype and teach James everything he never knew about surviving prison. After several unsuccessful attempts at trying to teach James how to physically protect himself in prison, Darnell decides that “giving head” is the only way James will survive in prison. From this point on, “giving head” becomes the main theme of the film and every saving grace it had prior to this point, is forgotten.
A couple of days before entering prison, Darnell finds out that James’ boss (Craig T. Nelson) is the culprit behind the false accusations of fraud, and together they devise a way to keep James out of prison and expose his boss and his boss’ daughter who was his cohort. In the end, James and Darnell have developed a greater relationship by understanding their real differences and their similarities. Darnell is rewarded for his hard work by getting the money he needed, in addition to an upgrade of his business, and through his losses, James becomes a winner too. Sadly enough, the stereotypical roles in this film were grossly overstated, and the overuse of “giving head” took away from every meaningful purpose, consequently failing to humor me.
In theaters March 27th
