“The Upside” is based on the true story of a wealthy French aristocrat who was paralyzed in a paragliding accident, and the ex-con who becomes his caretaker. This new American version changes up some of the details, but the basic concept of a man and his assisstant remains. Emmy winner Bryan Cranston plays Phillip, a quadrapelgc who is despondent and angry that he wasn’t allowed to die after the accident happened. He is in the market for a new caretaker and this is where Kevin Hart makes his appearance. He plays ex-con Dell, who has an exwife, a kid who he never sees, and a ton of back child support payments. He is about to be sent back to jail unless he can prove he is seriously looking for work. Dell stumbles upon the interview, thinking he is there for a janitorial position. Phillip seizes this opportunity to hire the worst prospect for the job and hopes that Dell won’t know how to take care of him properly and he can finally join his dead wife. This is a very stale premise that has been overdone in movies and television, and yet in this movie it works. I give a lot of credit to the chemistry between Bryan Cranson and Kevin Hart. The are very good together. Dell helps to mellow Phillip and give him many reasons to want to live and enjoy life. In return, Phillip gives Dell a steady job and the seed money to venture out on his own. I notice that many critics gave this movie a low rating, but don’t listen to them. This is funny and heartwarming and I think you will enjoy it. My favorite scene had to do with a painting that a pretentious rich guy thinks was painted by Banksy. This movie doesn’t have a deep message like “Green Book” or a ground-breaking performance like “Bohemian Rapsody” but it is entertaining and satisfying. I suggest you give it a try.
Why Him?
Listen, this movie is definitely mindless entertainment, with hit or miss comedy. That being said, if you want to get away from the hustle and bustle of Christmas for a few hours, there are worse ways to spend an evening. James Franco plays an internet millionaire who has fallen in love with Bryan Cranston’s daughter ( I can only assume that the Emmy award winning actor was paid well for this movie). James Franco is super-eccentric. He has a paperless bathroom and a chef who serves food that looks exactly like newspaper (this in honor of his future father-in-law who owns a printing business). Keegan-Micheal Key plays an equally eccentric “butler” who sneak attacks his employer a la The Pink Panther. I did laugh in some spots, but my advice is to wait until you can watch this one on television and go see Rogue One or Fantastic Beasts instead.
The Infiltrator
Very well-done movie based on the true story about a U.S. Customs official who goes deep undercover to infiltrate the Medillin Colombian drug trafficking empire. Bryan Cranston is top-notch as agent Bob Mazur, who teams up with Emir Abreu, played by the always entertaining John Leguizamo, Their goal to infiltrate the cartel’s money laundering operation is of course very dangerous and stressful. This is a thinking man’s move, with more dialogue than action. Even so, I was on the edge of my seat wondering if one small slip (involving a state-of-the-art briefcase) or a misplaced word (forgetting a detail of the fake identity) would cause the intricate sting operation to fall apart and cost Mazur, and his wife and children, their lives. If you need lots of nonstop action, I would skip this movie. However, if you want to see a great performance by Bryan Cranston and learn how Bob Mazur and company were able to pull off a two year sting that uncovered drug kingpin Pablo Escavar’s money laundering operation and led to the arrest and conviction of over 100 people, this movie is definitely worth seeing!