3455. About Last Night (2014)

Starring: Kevin Hart, Regina Hall, Michael Ealy

Director: Steve Pink

Running Time: 100 mins

About Last Night is an American film about two couples who aim to establish how their relationships work in the real world, experiencing all of the ups and downs of love in a short period of time.

An enjoyable if not often rather messy romantic comedy, About Last Night counts on charismatic performances and a smattering of good jokes to keep you entertained, but does little to foster real interest in its characters and the love stories at the centre of its plot.

While there is indeed a lot to like about About Last Night, it’s a very lop-sided film, with one half far more enjoyable than the other. The story revolves around two couples whose lives intertwine, but it’s only one of those couples that actually proves genuinely entertaining throughout.

That’s Kevin Hart and Regina Hall, who are a whole heap of fun throughout, delivering a great blend of wacky comedy and charismatic Hollywood romance fare that makes them absolute dynamite together on screen, making for most of the laughs throughout About Last Night.

The problem, however, is that Hart and Hall’s relationship is often secondary in the screenplay to that of Michael Ealy and Joy Bryant, who are far less entertaining in every way, whether that be in comedy or in romantic drama.

Ealy and Bryant’s relationship is there to serve as a more serious portrayal of the trials and tribulations of romance, while Hart and Hall have a lot more humour to play with as they too showcase the same thing, albeit with lesser prominence in the film.

For the most part, the more serious that About Last Night gets about its story, the less interesting and certainly less enjoyable it is. Ealy and Bryant are fine, but there’s no star charisma or chemistry about them that can match Hart and Hall, who dominate the film despite their smaller presence throughout.

As such, there is a lot to like about About Last Night, but much is heavily dependent on just one half of the story, with the other half proving more of a drag than anything. So, that’s why I’m giving the film a 6.9 overall.