Kevin Hart doesn’t reinvent the form, but Let Me Explain evinces just how fully he has mastered the art of entertaining an audience.
Behind every great comedian is a problem. Some stand-up comics spend their lives wrestling with depression. Others struggle to find balance in a job that rewards decadence and self-deprecation with laughter. Rarely, it seems, does happiness come easily.
Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain paints an alternative picture of a comic who appears to be getting his life together. The majority of the film comes from a sold-out show at Madison Square Garden in 2012, during which Hart opened the performance by telling his audience how happy he was. (Primarily, he said, because his divorce had been recently finalized.)
Hart’s act draws from iconic comedians such as Eddie Murphy and Chris Rock, but he never borrows anything he can’t make his own. His material centers on both romantic and platonic relationship struggles, with a large chunk of the performance dedicated to his admission — without remorse — of having cheated on his wife. Despite already solidifying his place in the world of comedy, he shows no sign of moving toward deception.
While a fair amount of the material in Let Me Explain relies on Hart’s previous bits rather than new ones, his comedic observations almost always ring true. Hart delivers a commanding performance in typical fashion — jittery and considerably engaging given the size of the venue. (The Philadelphia native has apparently not lost his touch for over-the-top, strangely voiced impressions either.)
This is not to claim that Hart has nothing new to offer though. The “bum bump” joke — seriously, let Kevin explain — is gold and, given the audience’s reaction, will likely work itself into future routines.
Hart is by no means a Louis C.K.-type game changer. But he is hilarious in his own spastic way, enough even to earn a spot among the most popular and influential stand-ups in the world.
Let Me Explain may not be a representation of what Hart ultimately aspires to be (see his reaction to his April arrest for driving under the influence), but it stands as the musings of a man headed in the right direction. During the show, he speaks repeatedly of how his mistakes and failures have led him to become a better individual.
Kevin Hart is proof there is room for more than cynicism in today’s comedy. He makes people laugh, and his routines genuinely seem to make audiences happier. With him, what you see is what you get. He is a comedian: plain, simple and very, very funny.
diversionsdbk@gmail.com
