[ROAD
HARD opens in Cleveland on
Friday March 6 th exclusively at Tower City Cinemas.]
Review
by Bob Ignizio
I
don't find Adam Carolla particularly funny. Never have. So that's a
fairly major obstacle that ROAD HARD,
the new film Carolla stars in and co-wrote and directed, has to
overcome with this reviewer. It does so largely by being a personal
and surprisingly sweet little film about a once popular comedian,
Bruce Madsen (Carolla), who has fallen on hard times both in terms of
his career, and life in general. Once co-star of the popular “Bro
Show” and other TV programs, Bruce's star has faded and he finds
himself back on the road doing stand-up in mid size comedy clubs,
flying coach, and living out of hotel rooms.
Even
when he's back home in L.A., Bruce is stuck living in a garage, his
ex-wife and her new beau occupying the main house along with Bruce's
daughter Tina (Cynthy Wu). On top of everything else, Bruce needs to
come up with a way to pay for Tina's college tuition. So he takes
whatever gigs his oddball manager “Baby Doll” (Larry Miller) can
get him, even a job warming up the audience for his former “Bro
Show” partner Jack Taylor (Jay Mohr), now a popular late-night
talk show host. That's gotta' hurt.
While
working yet another questionable job, Bruce meets Sarah (Diane Farr),
a middle aged widow from New Hampshire who strikes up a conversation
with the down on his luck comedian. The two hit it off and eventually
start dating, but can Bruce still chase after Hollywood success and
carry on a long distance relationship with a New England girl at the
same time? And does he still even want that success? The plot is a
familiar one, but the authenticity of the details and genuine emotion
contained in ROAD HARD
make it a respectable “B” grade rom com.
Carolla
doesn't exactly stand out as a master thespian, but he does a decent
enough job essentially playing himself, and what he lacks in star
power he makes up for in regular guy likability. He undermines his
appeal on occasion with some of his more juvenile (and, in the
opinion of some, sexist and homophobic) material, but enough of the
jokes hit their mark to say that the film works as a comedy. I went
in expecting to hate ROAD HARD,
and hate Carolla in it, so he must have done something right. those
who are already fans of the guy should find it even more to their
liking. 2 ½ out of 4 stars.
2 and 1/2 stars doesn't quite cut it. But it's hard to blame someone for rating a movie better because he hasn't quite created anything but a caustic relationship with the media.
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