I’ll admit that going into Kevin Hart’s third stand-up comedy film in three years I had my share of doubts. Last year’s Laugh At My Pain wasn’t his best work and with a year that seemed quite busy with films like Think Like A Man, plus the success of The Real Husbands of Hollywood television series, I thought a little hiatus from stand-up would be great for him. Turns out I was wrong and my doubts were unwarranted. Let Me Explain might be Kevin’s best work yet… Yep, even more hilarious than I’m A Grown Little Man.
The film starts with some sketch comedy, finding Kevin Hart at a ‘Mix and Mingle’ event, celebrating his accomplishments. The celebration rapidly goes downhill as patrons continue to question and accuse him of a number of things that have been portrayed of him in the media. The scene helps elaborate on the movie title, as Kevin realizes he needs to clear some things up for the people, so much so that he demands his manager shut the party down and open up the Garden for him to speak his mind. Hart pokes fun at himself in the scene, bringing up things like his DUI arrest, the idea that he’s gone Hollywood and the stigma that he is a ‘L.A.B.,’ which is hilariously explained to be a ‘Local Ass Bitch!’
Hart begins his explanations on the road, taking the viewer through a few stops on his International Tour, where he visited cities like Vancouver, England, Amsterdam, Oslo, and Belgium. We get a bit of a behind the scenes look of the tour bus and the road living arrangements. The process helps confirm that he is definitely no L.A.B.
By the time we get to the actual stand-up show that was recorded at his sold-out performances at Madison Square Garden, we are thoroughly warmed up, eager for him to deliver on the gut wrenching jokes. He does just that. Hart tosses out funnies about his divorce, his children, the single life and his worries in life, including his fear of the hands of bums—I couldn’t do it justice if I tried to explain it.
There are spots during the stand-up set where you find yourself not laughing uncontrollably or clapping in agreement, but they are few and far in between. The jokes are well thought out and he takes the audience on a genuine journey into some of his serious life situations. It’s similar to the comedy specials he’s released in the past, but he hits the nail right on the head this time. While there is no apparent catchphrase from this film, he does take the time to briefly provide snippets of his old catchphrases at different parts throughout the set.
Kevin’s still got it. Movies, television shows and all, he is still on top of his game with this stand-up comedy stuff. If he’s going to continue to release these he’ll go down as one of the best the comedy game has ever had. He’s already in great company, becoming just the 6th comedian to sell out Madison Square Garden, joining the likes of Eddie Murphy, Chris Rock, Andrew Dice Clay, Russell Peters and Dane Cook.
Let Me Explains receives a PARLÉ
Rating:
P…Horrible
PA…Tolerable
PAR…Good
PARL…Kinda Great
PARLÉ… Classic
Also Check Out:
Kevin Hart – Laugh At My Pain movie review
Yeezus – Kanye West album review
Meek Mill – “Levels”
Fruitvale Station movie review
The Purge movie review
