Making a remake to a well-received film is by no means an easy task. Taking a critically acclaimed foreign film and making it into an Americanized story is double the challenge as the new film must not only meet the level of quality set by the original, but also reintroduce the story for a new kind of audience.
The Upside is a smash hit remake of the 2011 critically acclaimed French film titled
The Intouchables, which centered around an quadriplegic aristocrat hiring a young man from the projects to become his caregiver. Nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film, the film became an instant smash hit with French audiences becoming one of the biggest films in France as well as sitting in the top 40 spot on IMDB's Top 250 list of best movies. The film was remade twice after its release with the second being the Telugu film
Oopiri, and the third film being the release of
The Upside. With the success of
The Intouchables, it was inevitable that an American remake of the French film would soon be greenlighted. The announcement of the American remake came as early as 2011 with the original actors considered for the main part of the caregiver ranging from Chris Rock to Chris Tucker, Idris Elba, and Jessica Chastain in the role that went to Nicole Kidman. The film also shifted with directors going from
Bridesmaids Paul Feig to Simon Curtis and finally ending up with official director Neil Burger. Originally filmed and premiered at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival, the film was ultimately shelved and sold off following the sexual abuse allegations against producer Harvey Weinstein. Picked up by STX and Lantern Entertainment, the film was officially released in the United States on January 11th 2019 making it Lantern studios first release. Starring
Breaking Bad's Bryan Cranston in the main role and
Jumanji's Kevin Hart,
The Upside is a faithful and uplifting remake of the 2011 French classic, largely thriving off their strong chemistry together even if the overall film doesn't reach the same cinematic quality of its heartwarming original.
The plot for
The Upside virtually remains the exact same as the original with Kevin Hart playing a recently paroled convict trying to break free of his criminal record by landing a job as a caregiver to a depressed, quadriplegic billionaire played by Bryan Cranston. With both coming from two different worlds with opposite personalities and interests, they form an unusual yet genuine friendship with both learning to accept each others personalities and cultural differences. What made
The Intouchables such a powerful and well-executed drama, is its unique story which is based upon the true life of Philippe Pozzo di Borgo.
The Intouchables was not only an extremely well-acted, directed, and written film, it possessed both charm and heart that made the audience laugh while marvel in the fact that they were witnessing a life-changing event for both of the main characters in the film.
The Intouchables succeeded mainly because of the heart the story possessed but couldn't pull it off without the masterful direction the film received as well as the strong acting talents of the two main actors with Francois Cluzet and Omar Sy delivering amazing performances while showcasing remarkable chemistry together. The story is one that's sensitive, inspiring, and ultimately touching as it stays true to life despite feeling a bit sappy at times.
The Upside plays it safe for the most part by remaining close to the same themes of the original with the overall message saying that everyone deserves a second chance and should make the most of it. Like its predecessor,
The Upside is full of laughs while being sappy, overly sentimental, preachy in its message about redemption particularly Kevin Hart's character, yet it still manages to hit home with its audience with the films uplifting tale of how two unlikely people meet, become good friends, and ultimately change each others lives. It never touches the cinematic heights of its predecessor as that film was essentially lightning in a bottle, but
The Upside does a damn good job of taking the same story and crafting its own version of it while working largely due to the strong chemistry between Bryan Cranston and Kevin Hart. Its not the tearjerker the original is, but its still an uplifting and heartwarming film on its own merits while adding a few new twists to the story.
In terms of acting performances, Bryan Cranston and Kevin Hart steal the show and not only deliver strong performances but showcase terrific chemistry together. These two essentially make and carry the story on their shoulders as they honor the work done before them by the previous actors while moving the story forward. They are not only fun together on the big screen, but seem to be really enjoying the source material as they stay true to it while adding their own touch to the characters. As good as their performances are however, they don't leave the same kind of impact that Cluzet and Sy left with the original masterpiece. Nicole Kidman delivers a strong performance as Cranston's character Philips assistant. Her role is more laid back and quieter compared to the main stars but still likable and an important one nonetheless. Her character experiences the most notable change in the remakes story out of everyone in the film. Aja Naomi King does well playing Hart's characters estranged wife in the story despite her character having a small role, same with Jahi Di'Allo Winston, who also impresses as Hart's son shown to be frustrated by the lack of his fathers presence in his life. The key to the remakes success besides the writing and directing was always going to hinge on the performances of its cast and here is no exception with Bryan Cranston and Kevin Hart delivering terrific performances. Cranston does very well here making audiences convinced that he's a depressed and grouchy disabled billionaire, who discovers through his friendship with Hart's character that life is still worth living. For the part of Dell, it was always going to rely on the charisma and acting talents of its chosen actor to pull it off and make the characters relationship with Cranston's character convincing. Here, Kevin Hart not only manages to rise to the occasion with bringing much-needed humor to the story but also provides warmth, and a sense of understanding to his character. Given that this actor is known strictly for his comedic routines, its nice to see him take on a role that allows him to continue that process while also adding another layer of depth to his work. Its also remarkable that he shows strong chemistry working off Bryan Cranston as the two practically carry the film on their shoulders with Nicole Kidman delivering the understated yet effective performance.
As for the films directing and writing, director Neil Burger takes on the films source material and succeeds for the most part blending layers of comedy mixed with drama, melodrama, and mixed with an art style film. Given the directors previous work on films such as
The Illusionist, The Lucky Ones Limitless, and
Divergent, one can see why Burger was chosen to be the director for this story as his resume shows, he excels in creating highly creative films that remain grounded within their small budgets. The approach that Burger takes with the story here in comparison to the original, is he attempts to flesh out the characters on a deeper level showing more of the depression that Philip has before Hart's character enters the picture and the period where he's not around. Dell's story is more fleshed out and relatable to the audience as he's struggling to make up for his criminal past while trying to remain in his families life with his wife keeping him at arms length and his son being pushed towards the bad elements in his neighborhood. The original film lightweight touched on these issues with Dell but Burger shows a more mature version of his character in the new film while maintaining the goofy aspects of his character from the original such as Dell's refusal to perform certain duties for Philip. The character of Yvonne receives significant change in the remake compared to the original as she plays a more pivotal role to the plot. Rather than Yvonne being treated as an object of desire for Dell in the original in a way that was presented as being hilarious and goofy, Yvonne is shown to instantly go to the disapproval button for Dell at the start feeling he's not qualified to care for Philip. Her concerns for Philip slowly but surely are revealed to be more than just the normal ones that an assistant has for their boss as she genuinely cares for Philips well-being while showing hidden jealously over his writing of letters to a secretive pen pal lover. Writer Jon Hartmere does a very good job of sticking close to the screenplay of the original film, while also adding more to the story and characters making it feel more complete in terms of the films narrative. The film is not just a heartwarming story about people getting second chances regardless of how bad the situation is, its also a celebration of diversity and acceptance that hits home to the audience in a heartwarming way.
In a year where remakes to major Hollywood classics are either a hit or miss (Tim Burton's
Dumbo and Guy Ritchie's
Aladdin being hits, Jon Favreau's
The Lion King being a huge missed opportunity), its nice to see one remake remain true to its original while reimagining the story for a new audience.
The Upside is an example of a remake that's done right even if the previous film remains the superior version of the two.
The Intouchables still remains the better film as it doesn't feel as slow in terms of pacing and the main performances are stronger and more powerful than Cranston and Hart's who are still awesome in their roles. That might seem a bit harsh to compare the two but there's much to celebrate with the remake as the performances and chemistry between the two main actors are where the heart of the film lies. The film begins much in the same way the original does with the first five minutes being nearly identical with the main characters being pulled over by the cops and using their charm and goofy nature to get free from custody. Whereas the story plays out much in the same way, it is the films third act which experiences the most significant change as the main characters have a falling out before reuniting. It is both nice and clever to see the director and writers switch up certain elements in the story to make the finale more heartwarming and powerful such as the twist involving the first love interest for Philip with the revelation of the second one. Dell also has a more complete finish in this story compared to the original as he's shown during his time away from Philip to be inspired by their friendship with his revealed new job profession building electric chairs for quadriplegics being a nice touch. He also has a happier ending with his family compared to the original with the remakes climax signifying that he fully turned his life around due to meeting Philip with Philip finding his happiness in the end thanks to Dell. Whereas
The Intouchables overall is a great movie,
The Upside is a pretty good American remake that has the stronger ending for the main characters. Its a shame that critics didn't embrace this film the way audiences did (Rotten Tomatoes has the critics scoring it at 40 percent rotten despite the audience score being fresh at 82 percent, with the film also bringing in 108 million domestically at the box office earlier this year), because the film is actually a solid remake to the French classic maintaining much of the fun, the charm, the heart, and uplifting message that made the original a well-renowned drama in the first place. For some, the storyline might come across as being preachy, manipulative, self-righteous, and latching onto every tired old cliche in the book (Those who make those complaints must not like the original because it draws all those elements from its predecessor), but for others this will surprise, entertain, and move people in terms of being both a heartfelt story as well as one of the few worthy remakes of a classic film this year. One should not see this movie unless they watch the original first so they can compare the two and decide for themselves which version did it better, the experience nonetheless will be a rewarding one.
Final Verdict: See It
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