The film opens with Dell Scott (Kevin Hart) driving Philip Lacasse (Bryan Cranston) through the city of Chicago. They are followed by police after Dell starts to speed up. He bets Philip that he can lose the cops, and he does for a moment until they corner him in the streets. They force Dell out of the car until he tells them that he was rushing to the hospital because Philip is having a seizure. They see him foaming at the mouth and then escort the two to the hospital, but they are just faking it and laugh over the cops believing them.
Six months earlier. Dell is recently released convict who is meeting with his parole officer to try and turn his life around. He must obtain a number of signatures and hand them in by the next day. He goes around to different workplaces with little to no interest in what they offer other than the signatures. Dell’s last stop is Philip’s home. As he is a quadriplegic, Philip interviews several candidates alongside his assistant Yvonne Pendleton (Nicole Kidman) for the position of Philip’s caregiver.
Dell waits for over an hour to be called in, and he barges in during an interview demanding to be met because he has to go meet his son. Philip decides to listen to Dell’s story, and when he mentions doing time in prison, Philip asks what he was in for. Dell tries to change the subject by turning it around on him and says that he must be offered the job after being asked that question. Philip does so, but Dell declines, as he is not interested in being hired and only wants the signature.
Dell goes to a school to pick up his son Anthony (Jahi Di’Allo Winston), but he is told by someone that his mother picked him up. Dell visits Anthony and his ex-wife Latrice (Aja Naomi King). Neither of them has much interest in Dell trying to be there now, what with him being absent for most of Anthony’s life. It doesn’t help that he and Latrice live in a crummy apartment that is falling apart. Dell gives Anthony a storybook for his birthday, except it’s a book he swiped from Philip before leaving.
Dell is contacted by Yvonne to come back as Philip wants to hire Dell for the job, simply because he was the worst and least qualified candidate. She doesn’t trust Dell due to his criminal history and is concerned for how Dell will handle Philip, but he assures her he can do a good job. Yvonne establishes a three strikes rule on Dell to make sure he doesn’t screw up, and she lets him know that the job is a live-in position, and it pays very well since Philip is so wealthy.
The Upside is a 2017 American comedy-drama film directed by Neil Burger and written by Jon Hartmere. It is a remake of the French 2011 film The Intouchables, which was itself inspired by the life of Philippe Pozzo di Borgo. The film follows a paralyzed billionaire (Bryan Cranston) who strikes up an unlikely friendship with a recently paroled convict (Kevin Hart) whom he hires to take care of him. Nicole Kidman, Golshifteh Farahani, and Julianna Margulies also star. It is the third remake of The Intouchables after the Indian film Oopiri and the Argentinian film Inseparables (both 2016).
The film premiered at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival.[4] Originally to be distributed by The Weinstein Company in March 2018, the film was shelved and sold off following the Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse allegations. It was eventually bought by STX Entertainment and Lantern Entertainment (the successor of TWC), who then released it in the United States on January 11, 2019, becoming Lantern’s first release. The Upside has grossed over $48 million and received mixed reviews from critics, who praised Hart and Cranston’s chemistry and performances but criticized the plot for being “predictable and cliché”.
The Upside (2019)
Directed by: Neil Burger
Starring: Kevin Hart, Bryan Cranston, Nicole Kidman, Aja Naomi King, Genevieve Angelson, Golshifteh Farahani, Julianna Margulies, Suzanne Savoy, Michael Quinlan, Rachel Christopher
Screenplay by: Jon Hartmere
Production Design by: Mark Friedberg
Cinematography by: Stuart Dryburgh
Film Editing by: Naomi Geraghty
Costume Design by: Kasia Walicka-Maimone
Set Decoration by: Beth A. Rubino, William M. Staab
Art Direction by: Tom Frohling, Kim Jennings
Music by: Rob Simonsen
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for suggestive content and drug use.
Distributed by: STX Entertainment
Release Date: January 11, 2019
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