The Upside

— Yes, it’s a bromance that includes comedic stereotypes when dealing with race, gender, disability, and wealth, but it’s still kind of funny. In fact, a few times I laughed out loud. There’s good, old-fashioned, “Odd Couple” chemistry between Phil (Bryan Cranston), the wealthy quadriplegic who lost his wife to cancer, and Dell (Kevin Hart), his ex-con caretaker who isn’t meeting his alimony payments and has a son who won’t talk with him. Throw in Nicole Kidman as Phil’s smart, sensible, admiring, long-suffering, and probably lovelorn executive assistant, and you’ve got three good actors who can pull off this kind of comedy and make it look easy. It doesn’t leave you pondering any great issues afterwards, and it’s a little embarrassing to enjoy the irreverence, but I wasn’t expecting more than some fun and that’s just what I got.

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[2017. 126 min. Directed by Neil Burger. Starring Kevin Hart, Bryan Cranston, and Nicole Kidman.]
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-upside-2019