Night School: Movie Review

09-26-2018

Kevin Hart’s Night School might get a passing grade – if you’re into low-brow comedy movies. Think The Hangover, Horrible Bosses, so on.

If you’re like the rest of us and enjoy a funny movie that doesn’t rely on crude comedy, then you’ll think it’s a complete fail.

One thing Night School has going for it is its rating. But, don’t let that fool you. This "PG-13" movie goes to the very limit with "crude and sexual content throughout, language, some drug references and violence." And, there are a few instances of dubbed-over dialogue, which suggests it was at an R-rated level and then ever so slightly pared down to meet MPAA PG-13 standards.

Night School follows Teddy Walker's inescapable return to high school to face his educational demons and pass the GED exam. His game plan of charming his way out of it falls through when he meets his no-nonsense teacher (Tiffany Haddish).

This movie teaches us a few important lessons: taking revenge doesn't help, it only hurts; lying will get you nowhere; hard work and persistence pay off in the end.

An important lesson for the studio: raunchiness is a big turn off for a lot of people. This movie had fun story elements to build on, but it will fall apart for many moviegoers who aren't into its offensive, belittling humor.