5. Get Hard Is Branded "Racist & Homophobic" By A Bunch Of Critics
Get Hard treads in inherently dangerous territory, it being a film about a white man who - facing time in prison - recruits the only black person that he knows to help him toughen up before the inevitable day, wrongly assuming him to have done time in jail (yes, because he's black). It's a comedy, yes, but that didn't stop the racist accusations from flying. Whilst the majority of critics took offence to Get Hard's use of blackface, prison rape jokes and gags based around the N-word, the public didn't seem to care quite so much. And for what it's worth, Get Hard remains a curious film because it found itself in a unique position; it has been branded both "racist" and "not racist" - sometimes by the same person. Because on one hand, it is clearly a parody intending to poke fun at relations between white people and black people. On the other, there are questionable inclusions, and at points you have to wonder whether "It's satire!" is more of an excuse than a justification. Then again, how far can you go with satire? When is satire not satire? What is "too far?" Certainly, Will Ferrell and Kevin Hart (the film's lead actors) don't agree that the film is racist and jumped to defend it after the controversies arose: "All we're doing as comedians is holding up a mirror to things that actually exist out there," Ferrell said on the matter. "Stereotyping is something we are all guilty of," echoed Hart, before adding: "Judging a book by its cover and after you read that book you learn that there's so much more to it."
Sam Hill is an ardent cinephile and has been writing about film professionally since 2008. He harbours a particular fondness for western and sci-fi movies.
