"The Upside" Movie Review

It’s January 2019, and in a month that sees Hollywood throwing a new thriller film in theaters every week, The Upside seeks to offer more lighthearted counter programming for audiences. So the question is does this comedy-drama capitalize more on the comedy or on the drama?

The Upside follows a recently paroled ex-convict, played by Kevin Hart, who is chosen by a paralyzed billionaire, played by Bryan Cranston, for the job of taking care of him. The two strike up an unlikely friendship and eventually help each other grow and evolve into better people.

For a film called The Upside, there are many downsides to it, one of which being that it’s extremely predictable. The story marches to the beat of every cliched comedy-drama plot point, and as a result, makes every high and low of the film less interesting to experience. Additionally, the film isn’t all that funny, with only one or two scenes managing to elicit laugh-out-loud scenarios.

So the answer to the opening question of whether The Upside is better at comedy or drama is neither. But the benefit to following formula is that you know exactly what you’re getting; a feel-good, heartwarming movie featuring a likable duo. As a piece of entertainment, The Upside isn’t great. But the upside to The Upside is that it could’ve been worse.

Acting and Casting - 1 | Visual Effects and Editing - 1 | Story and Message - 0 | Entertainment Value - 1 | Music Score and Soundtrack - 1 | Reviewer's Preference - 1 | What does this mean?