Respond to these rapid questions in our Night School quiz and we will tell you which Night School character you are. Play it now.
A light, earnest, goofy comedy about a high school dropout (Kevin Hart) attempting to earn a General Equivalency Diploma in a night school classroom run by one of those super-tough but inspirational teachers (Tiffany Haddish) that movies can’t seem to get enough of, “Night School” is the tiniest wisp of a film. No part of it makes much sense, but then again, nothing about classic old comedies starring people like W.C. Fields or Laurel and Hardy made much sense either, because they were about oddballs getting themselves into trouble and then trying to get themselves out of trouble.
You really don’t need to know much about this film except that it stars Hart, who has established himself as modern American cinema’s go-to Everyman clown; that Haddish is underused but still hilarious; that the supporting cast is full of memorable eccentrics (including Keith David and Donna Biscoe as the hero’s parents); and that it is directed by Malcolm Lee (“The Best Man” series, “Girls Trip”), a master of shenanigans. I’m not sure how it’ll play on a small screen, but it’s a blast when played in front of a large audience on a big screen. When Lee, his cast, and Lee’s go-to editor Paul Millspaugh are working together, they can usually find at least one big laugh and two smaller ones, even in scenes that seem thrown together. (There are six screenwriters listed in the credits, including Lee and Hart.)
Aside from the setup, which is overly complicated, “Night School” is a feature film with enough story to fill a short film. The goal of Hart’s character Teddy Walker is to obtain a GED in order to obtain employment as a salesman at a firm run by an old friend in order to replace the job he lost at a barbecue grill store after he accidentally destroyed it; this is all done in the service of maintaining Teddy’s spendthrift lifestyle, which is calculated to make his girlfriend Lisa (Megalyn Echikunwoke) believe he’s living the high life despite the fact that he’s perpetually one Underneath it all, there’s a much more straightforward and relatable story: Teddy was a weak student who was constantly referred to as “dumb” throughout his life. If he can finally obtain the diploma he was denied when he dropped out of high school, he will be able to defeat the demons of his past.
But you shouldn’t waste any more time and start this Night School quiz.
Despite the fact that this is not a “Saturday Night Live” parody, it suffers from the same “SNL” problem of wanting to be both heartwarming and raucous at the same time, and failing miserably at both goals on a regular basis. Teddy re-enrolls in GED classes at the same high school from which he had dropped out decades before. Stewart, the principal, is an old adversary of his (“SNL” cast member Taran Killam). Teddy used to torment Stewart until Teddy embarrassed him in front of everyone. Now that he’s in charge, he’s determined to make Teddy’s time at the establishment as unpleasant as possible. Similarly to Morgan Freeman’s main character in the film “Lean on Me,” he enjoys speaking in African-American dialect and swinging a bat around menacingly. Teddy’s teacher, Carrie (Haddish), is a multitasking, super-competent badass who hollers like a drill sergeant and occasionally takes the students to a mixed martial arts gym, where she puts them in a cage, feeds them questions about English, math, history, and science, and smacks them if they don’t answer correctly and quickly. In the film, Carrie (Haddish) is a multitasking, super- (Professor Keating isn’t one of them.)
Night School Quiz
Everyone in the classroom is a lovable gang of weirdos with their own problems, despite the fact that they come from a variety of different backgrounds. Mackenzie (Rob Riggle) is a dropout who has spent his entire life destroying his back while working as a mover. He wants to get his GED so he can get off the truck and start working behind a desk. Teresa (Mary Lynn Rajskub) dropped out of the program because she became pregnant by a domineering jerk who she is still married to at the time of her withdrawal. Luis (Al Madrigal) is a Latino waiter who Kevin concocted to be the target of a gunshot in a scene that is too complicated to discuss here; he speaks mangled English and dreams of becoming the next Justin Bieber, among other things. A paranoid conspiracy theorist convinced that machines have taken over the world, Jaylen (Romany Malco) is played by Romany Malco. Sometimes he looks off into the distance, and you can tell he’s thinking about the opening sequence of “The Terminator.” A convicted felon by the name of Bobby (Fat Joe) is enrolled in night school via Skype. He takes his lessons so seriously that when he is interrupted by an attempted shanking, he yells, “I’m trying to learn!” as he thrashes the attackers who are trying to stop him. And so forth. Teddy, like the rest of them, has big (or small) dreams. However, because night school is simply too demanding, they begin to consider alternative routes to graduation. And that’s where all the trouble starts for me.
Also, you will find out which character are you in this Night School quiz.
Brady Hart holds the whole thing together—he has a classic deadpan expression and is even funnier when he’s reacting silently than when he’s rolling around on the floor and shrieking his head off—and there’s no denying the comic chemistry between Teddy, Carrie, Stewart, and the other characters. Throughout the show, each actor gets one or two brief arias of verbal slapstick or wild slapstick satire. The sequence in which the Stooges attempt to sneak into the school after hours is the best in the show; the crew allows Bobby to participate via iPhone, and the climax is a pratfall that would’ve killed all three of the Stooges is the best in the show. Nevertheless, the most memorable moments in the film are built around wordplay—for example, a character hearing the word Roomba and saying that his wife attends rhumba classes, or another character being informed that he has “a processing disorder” and exclaiming, “prostate cancer???”
About the quiz
To be honest, there are probably only a handful of people who find this type of material amusing in the first place (reviewer sheepishly raises hand). However, it is to Lee and his collaborators’ credit that “Night School” pitches a comedic tent large enough to accommodate a variety of silly situations for everyone. Reflecting on the film, I’m torn between wanting it to be more than it is and being impressed that something so haphazardly put together didn’t fall apart right away. It’s overlong and shaggy, and it alternates between being too thin and too dense, and it keeps veering into sentimentality that it doesn’t entirely earn, which is frustrating. Although the characters aren’t particularly likeable, you find yourself rooting for them because the actors are so likeable, and because the film recognizes that, even though most films never mention the letters GED, it’s an achievement worth striving for in the real world.Also, you must try to play this Night School quiz.
For more personality quizzes check this: Christopher Robin Quiz.
