Fatherhood

At some point every comedian attempts to do a drama and it seems Kevin Hart has reached that place in his career.  In his new film Fatherhood, he plays a single father raising his daughter after his wife doesn’t make it after giving birth. The movie opens with Matt (Kevin Hart) giving a speech at his wife’s funeral in which his opening remarks is that “this sucks”. That is the simplest, but most honest description of what it’s like to lose someone you love, but we don’t know how she died. That is told through a few flashbacks as it takes us back to what happened and what put Matt in the situation he is in.

Matt would probably be your average guy, he was excited but far from ready to have a kid. I don’t mean that in a bad way, but in a way where he hadn’t even built the crib yet. While he tries to overcome the death of his wife, both his mother and her mother, Marian (Alfre Woodard) want to be there to help him, but it is Marian who doesn’t think he is ready. She offers to take her home with her, but Matt refuses that offer and instead makes a deal that if he can’t handle it, he will move back to where they live. Those used to Hart’s style of acting will be in for a surprise here. Where he is usually at a twelve with his voice and actions he barley hits a four here. The screenplay written by Dana Stevens and Paul Weltz, the later also directing ,take a story not often told from Matt Logelin’s book. While you might not get ‘stand up “ Kevin Hart, he does show that he can do more than just provide a laugh, even though he still does that here. The story’s main strength is its heart and it beats strong especially in the relationship between Hart and Melody Hurd, who plays his daughter Maddy. While we spend some moments with Matt and Maddy as a baby, most of the film takes place when she has started school. It is obvious that he has done a good job, but being a single parent offer more challenges than just being a parent. It is soon that Matt is introduced to Lizzie (DeWanda Wise) and they start dating, which always adds a new wrinkle if you are a single parent. Fatherhood  brings back memories of another one of Weltz’s films, About a Boy, which is also about relationships.  While I don’t know if Fatherhood will ever reach that movies heights, it still is something that is pretty special.

There is something about stepping out of your comfort zone that can help you excel. While I have always preferred Hart as a supporting character because of his style, I liked this Kevin Hart and look forward to seeing more of him in this way. As for this film, in general I also enjoyed it as well, because anytime a movie can make me both laugh and cry during its runtime it’s doing things right. I hope we hear more stories that are not told enough, because there is so much in those stories to offer. Fatherhood brings out the feels for sure and delivers a good movie in doing so, in what is sure to be the opening chapter of what Kevin Hart has planned for us next.