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“Get Hard”: Offensive, but funny Roy Chan Staff Reporter Offensive? Definitely. Homophobic and racist? Check. Prison rape? Mentioned every 30 seconds. But is the movie hilarious? Oh yes it is, very much so. “Get Hard” will not garner stellar critical reviews due to its crude and sometimes cringe-worthy humor that so very often walks the tightrope of attempted satire. First-time director Etan Cohen— a comedy writer for films like “Tropic Thunder” and “Idiocracy”—carefully infuses “Get Hard” with exaggerated American stereotypes and blatant class inequality. It will make you erupt with dirty laughter or utter disgust, and then it will make you slowly realize that people like this actually exist. First, we meet James King (Will Ferrell), a hedge fund manager who lives in Bel-Air. After the chief executive officer of the company, who is also his future father-in-law, makes him partner, King is unexpectedly framed for fraud and sentenced to 10 years in San Quentin State Prison. He hires Darnell Lewis (Kevin Hart), his long-time car washer, to help him survive prison life, simply because Darnell is African-American and therefore must have been to prison. A working-class father who has never been to jail, an offended Lewis accepts the job for the money. The absurdity of a white-collar crime resulting in a 10-year sentence at one of the oldest and most notorious U.S. prisons sets the tone of the film fairly well. Ferrell bolsters the ridiculousness by depicting the privileged “one percent” in its worst fashion, whether it be stretching naked behind a floor-to-ceiling window inside his mansion in front of his gardeners or suggesting blackface
as a method of blending in in Crenshaw, Los Angeles’ largest African-American community. It’s undeniably funny because of King’s convincing unawareness of his offensiveness. Hart pulls his own weight as well, showing us homophobic attitudes and racial stereotypes. In one scene, Lewis describes the frequency of gay sex in prison, and King recoils in fear and disgust, while in another scene, Lewis simultaneously acts as three prisoners: one gay, one black and one Latino. By placing racist stereotypes and homophobia in the same vein as class differences, Ferrell and Hart present them together as issues that society still has to deal with despite strides of progress. Although much of the material borders on being simply mean-spirited and insulting, Ferrell and Hart’s deeper satirical intent shows. They take the most deplorable people in this country (e.g. neo-Nazi skinheads and corrupt whitecollar criminals) and present their vilest qualities on-screen, pushing the limit of provocation for some viewers. Regardless of whether you find certain scenes insulting or hilarious, “Get Hard” says enough of the right dialogue at the right time enough to generate consistent laughs. Rude jokes abound in the film, and they will make you acknowledge the level of familiarity that disturbing (and funny) scenes have. If you want to laugh hard at a film that is a mashup of a satire and a farce, go watch “Get Hard.”
Film: “Get Hard” Starring: Will Ferrell, Kevin Hart Release Date: March 27, 2015 Rating:
WRUW 91.1 gives students a chance to redo their high school prom Campus radio station to host second annual Punk Prom Temi Omilabu Staff Reporter Did you miss your high school prom, or was your high school prom an experience you would rather not revisit? If you would like the chance to redo the promenade that marked the end of your high school years and ushered you into college, or even if you had a blast and would like to do it all again, WRUWFM 91.1 can help. This Saturday April 4, from 9:00 p.m. until midnight, WRUW will host its second annual Punk Prom at Happy Dog at the Euclid Tavern. Punk Prom is an alternative-style formal dance and concert that allows you to do prom again—the right way. No more mediocre DJs that insist on playing “Call Me Maybe” and Taylor Swift. Say goodbye to the extremely awkward adolescent experiences that come with the idea of asking your cute classmate to dance with you. Grab your friends, your formal outfit of choice and head down to Happy Dog for a spectacular musical experience. Enjoy retaking a cheesy prom photo and all of the decorative hallmarks that signify high school prom. This event saw its inception last spring, but Teddy Eisenberg, a junior
who has been involved in planning Punk Prom, assures us that this year, it will be bigger and even better. Eisenberg reminisces that last year the headliners, Shannon and The Clams, were beyond enthused and got really into the event— they even came dressed in prom attire and made sure to perform a variety of school-related covers. “We’ve brought in rising indie pop stars Beverly as our national headliner and moved the event much closer to campus,” said Eisenberg. Last year, the event was at the offcampus Mahall’s 20 Lanes, but with the new nearby location, transportation to and from the event should not be a problem. Eisenberg also added that any person with a Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland Institute of Music or Cleveland Institute of Art student ID will gain free admission. Join Eisenberg and the rest of WRUW on Saturday for a night to remember.
Event: Punk Prom Location: Happy Dog Date: April 4 Price: Free with student I.D.
Theorist Charles Altieri discusses his new book on aesthetics in art Sierra Blanton Staff Reporter On Friday, March 27, Charles Altieri, an English professor from University of California, Berkeley, visited the Tinkham Veale University Center to give a presentation on his upcoming book, “Reckoning with Imagination: Wittgenstein and the Aesthetics of Literary Experience.” The book is coming out later this year and Altieri wanted to summarize and
He spoke of the relationship between philosophy and literature. Altieri also went into detail of the “valuing” that happens in text with morality and the self-reflection of a reader’s actions. discuss the ideas he wrote about, which involved philosophy, expression and aesthetics in art. In the Senior Classroom, rows of
chairs were set in front of the podium and most of the seats were taken. Light chatter filled the room until Altieri was introduced. Altieri stepped up to the podium and made some humorous remarks as he introduced his work. Prepared with a speech in hand, Altieri read out his summary to the audience. He took pauses to explain things further and to give examples in a loud clear voice, showing his enthusiasm for the topic. He spoke of the relationship between philosophy and literature. Altieri also went into detail of the “valuing” that happens in text with morality and the self-reflection of a reader’s actions. Afterwards discussion ensued as several hands went up to ask questions to get a further understanding of his theories. With his good humor, Altieri answered the questions and even demonstrated a point with the Robert Creeley poem, “Something.” The thoughtful discussion ended once the clock hit 4:30 p.m., an hour and a half after beginning. However, Altieri remained to speak and answer more questions with some as they went up to him while the rest of the audience trickled out.
Movie treats at Short. Sweet. Film Fest Alex Clarke Staff Reporter Short. Sweet. Film Fest is perfect for those that either love film, love Cleveland or get bored easily. According to one of the Short. Sweet. Film Fest’s film judges Dave St. Clair, you’re “never committed to a two hour movie that sucks.” Sign me up.
This festival has been progressively growing each year and is an amazing example of a CWRU Alumni accomplishment. Mike Suglio, a Case Western Reserve University graduate, started this film festival as a local Cleveland filmmaker who wanted a chance to showcase his own films on a smaller scale (as compared to the Cleveland International Film Festival held annually) and thought other local filmmakers might have the same problem. That first year, 50 people showed up, but each year it has been growing with both attendance, film submissions, length (that is, the number of days—the films are still short) and variety of what’s going on at the festival. Coming close is Short. Sweet.’s fourth festival, and the estimated attendance has grown to the point where the location has moved to Metropolitan at the 9’s Alex Theater. Metropolitan at the 9 was named top new hotel in Cleveland this year, and Suglio is really excited to be hosting the festival there.
This year there were 100 submissions of films under 20 minutes in the categories of fiction, non-fiction, animation, local, student and international. Sixtyfour were chosen. Also, Suglio will be showing one of his own films, titled “A Tribute to the Fallen,” for the first time at any of the festivals. Some of the films that will be showed at the festival range from a documentary created by chicken farmers about the inhumanity of chicken factories (“Chicken Factory Farmer Speaks Out”) to a fictional film about a guy approaching a girl at a bar (“Blush”), to a film about the return of Lebron James (“Welcome Home”). The film judge, Dave St. Clair, said that this may be the best year of submissions, calling the films “dynamite.” Some other differences between Short. Sweet. and other film festivals is that you aren’t restricted to normal movie food (aka overpriced popcorn); there will be actual restaurant food and alcohol served. Also many of the filmmakers will be there to present their film and to answer questions about their process, inspiration, etc. On top of that, there are seven local bands playing (including some CWRU alumni) and local businesses. Even representatives from the Jolly Scholar will be there to announce future plans and changes.
Event: Short. Sweet. Film Fest Location: Alex Theater; 2017 E. 9th St. Date: April 10-12 Price: $15-40