“The Upside” has a downside

The film “The Upside” is based on a true story, kind of. It’s actually based of off a French movie “Les Intouchables,” which itself is based off of a true story.

“The Upside” provides a good general experience for moviegoers yet lacks the punch to really make it memorable.

The film focuses on two characters, the first being Phillip Lacasse (Bryan Cranston), a wealthy yet depressed quadriplegic, and ex-convict Dell Scott (Kevin Hart).

The two meet seemingly by chance but stay together out of necessity, with Scott needing a job to satisfy his parole and Lacasse needing an assistant to help with everyday functions of life.

The two personalities mix like a cold front and a hot front, with the subsequent tornado leaving some funny moments and some dramatic moments in its path.

They offer a fresh dose of perspective to their respective issues and take the lessons learned working together and apply them to their separate lives.

One moment that shows growth is a scene where Lacasse and Scott are eating ice cream with Scott’s somewhat distrusting son, Anthony, and Scott reaches to wipe some ice cream off of Anthony’s face, much like he does with Lacasse.

The dialogue throughout the movie is solid overall, with each character getting a chance to display his own personality, but where it really shines through is with the sometimes serious yet sometimes playful banter between Lacasse and Scott.

Scott treats Lacasse as a normal human being even though society won’t, and Lacasse treats Scott as a friend even though he is aware of Scott’s criminal history. The two are able to get past preconceptions and form a bond that feels quite real.

While there are some good elements to this movie, there are certainly some negative ones that hold it back.

It’s not much of an emotional roller coaster, more of a kiddie ride with a few mild bumps and turns.

Also, the setup of the climax was chosen to be the opening scene, then the movie travels back six months to explain how we get to that point, but once the climax arrives in earnest, there isn’t any tension amongst the characters, which leaves the audience feeling slightly empty.

“The Upside” is a heartfelt tale of two people on opposite ends of every spectrum that are able to shed some perspective onto the other’s life and form a lifelong bond.

While it does underwhelm at some points, it leaves audiences with the feeling that they should accept people for who they are because the rewards might just be worth it.