About Last Night goes where most romantic comedies dare not to. Happily ever after is blown past to showcase the day-to-day struggle of maintaining a relationship. Anchored by a strong pair in the middle and flanked by a crazy duo used mostly for comedic relief, About Last Night refreshingly shows us the joys and pains of loving someone. Plus it has the big star of the moment, little man Kevin Hart.
About Last Night focuses on two couples. Hot messes Bernie (Kevin Hart) and Joan (Regina Hall) like to drink a lot and hook up in exotic ways. On one double date, they introduce Debbie (Joy Bryant) and Danny (Michael Ealy) to each other and then go for a little “pee place tryst.” Turns out Danny and Debbie connect instantly and start spending more time together. During that time, the volatile Joan/Bernie relationship goes through ups and downs that puts strain on the young couple, plus other outside factors slowly seep into their relationship.
About Last Night is a relatively short film, but it unfolds very slowly. This deliberate pace helps set up Danny and Debbie’s relationship, allowing the audience to see how honest and real it actually is. The passion in the beginning is electric: you feel the highs and carefree dream the two ride for a while. There is no sudden transition to tension; the slow build plants seeds of resentment and doubt that slowly grow as the couple spends more time living together. Most couples seeing this film will identify with either Danny or Debbie at some point, and the screenplay takes a bold risk not introducing conflict but letting conflict be generated by the two leads. While Joan and Bernie live the crazy life, Danny and Debbie firmly exist in the real one, and their connection makes About Last Night smarter than your average rom com.
Yes, everyone has seen a toxic relationship like the one Joan and Bernie have. However, About Last Night never really condemns what they are doing since they are being true to themselves. The movie basically parallels the two relationships to show how the final destination of true love can be achieved in multiple ways from multiple types of people. Wisely, About Last Night makes this relationship play second fiddle to the more realistic one; little doses provide enough insight into what goes on in their lives and services Danny and Debbie’s story by providing over-the-top counterpoints to bounce off of. The frankness in sexuality and constant zaniness threaten to overtake the core feelings Bernie and Joan are experiencing, but the screenplay smartly pulls back at the last minute most of the time.
The core four in About Last Night are very good. Michael Ealy and Joy Bryant sizzle on-screen as Danny and Debbie. They are cute when falling in love and honest when fighting, playing restrained and real very capably. Kevin Hart gets to play to his strengths here, at best when he is in panic. He also gets to do some good honest character work as Bernie, showing emotional range I thought was nonexistent. Ditto for Regina Hall, who plays up the bitchiness a little too much, but is overall very solid when forced to confront real feelings. Hart and Hall bear the big burden of providing the comedy counterpart, and nail more jokes than they miss. Cameos here are a missed opportunity, either plot serving (Christopher McDonald) or really terrible (Paula Patton and Terrell Owens).
About Last Night says nothing new about relationships, but it does give more insight than most other insipid rom coms. It is a great movie to take someone out on a date with, and it stays with you longer than you expect. The best compliment I can give About Last Night is that when you think about it, you cannot help but smile.