Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman October 12, 2013

Does merely dropping the “f bomb” over and over (and over) constitute your idea of hilarity? If so, you’ll probably get a kick out of Kevin Hart’s latest offering, which combines snippets from his sold out Madison Square Garden performances with more of a faux documentary approach that sees the comedian supposedly in off the cuff moments. If, like me, you’re an older fuddy duddy (yes, I freely admit it), you may find some of this humor lacking in punch, let alone punchlines. Hart is an amiable enough presence, and when he crafts comedy out of his kind of self important, self obsessed persona, things are in fact funny. Too often, though, Hart goes for the easy laugh (often as much a result of shock as it is of comedy) brought on by nonstop profanity. All of this said, Hart's sold out audiences are obviously in the former camp, for the live performance part of this Blu-ray shows an audience (and I mean that literally--the camera is often right up in various audience members' faces) laughing hysterically at every obscenity laced sentence the comedian utters.

Some of the funniest material here is actually in the non-performance moments, including a nice little vignette in the back of a limousine where Hart doesn’t quite get the difference between the words “applicable” and “amicable”. That punchline, which relates to his relatively recent and well publicized divorce, finds some comedy siblings in his live performance, where his relationship issues provide a little fodder for some passing humor. Fans of the comedian will no doubt find a lot to love about this effort, especially since it isn’t “just” a performance video, but those who have joined me in the fuddy duddy arena and who like old fashioned set ups and punchlines may be swearing under their breaths as they watch this piece.

Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Summit Entertainment and Lionsgate Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer. This is a nicely sharp and well detailed looking piece, with well saturated colors and excellent contrast. Some of the wide shots of Madison Square Garden don't pop with quite the clarity that the bulk of this enterprise does, but otherwise this a clear and precise looking presentation.

Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain features a great sounding lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix that starts off a bit on the anemic side (due to the "framing" device of a backstage party), but which soon kicks it up a notch once Hart takes us on a tour of his world travels which culminates in his Madison Square Garden performances. Fidelity is excellent, with the ubiquitous audience reactions spilling quite nicely through the surrounds.

Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• No, No, No, Let Us Explain (1080p; 10:17)


• Backstage Pass (1080p; 7:33)


• Let Me Explain Title Song Video featuring Erick Sermon, Snoop Dogg, Method Man & RL (1080p; 3:36)


• Let Me Explain Theme Song "The Narcissist" featuring American Antagon 1st (1080p; 3:32)


• "Pop Off" by Doeshun featuring Ray Ray & Ruck (720p; 3:47)

Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Old fashioned? You bet I am. I see a lot of standup comedy (my own wife performs as a standup comedian in the Pacific Northwest, regularly selling out shows at her own venue), and I just frankly get tired of nonstop profanity serving as the basis for comedy. Hart is a very appealing presence, and his act is lapped up by a large and appreciative audience here, so I'm obviously in the wrong demographic to fully appreciate this sort of humor. Hart fans will certainly want to pick this up, as it's actually a rather interesting "reboot" of the standard concert video.