Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

Night School Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman January 2, 2019

If Night School were given a letter grade, it would earn a passing "C" and a "B" for effort. Even if it can't best "basic," Kevin Hart's latest laugher finds some genuine humor in the somewhat unique world of adult education. The film gathers a collection of middle aged misfits and drops them in a classroom where they're tasked with learning geometry and chemistry, subjects that soar above their collective heads but are necessary concepts if they're going to earn their GED. Director Malcolm D. Lee (Girls Trip) and a crowd of credited writers, which includes Kevin Hart, build a movie that comfortably nestles into the standard twenty-teens Comedy stylings, complete with all the trimmings, from crude humor to tender life-affirming positives. The film is good for a few laughs but hardly sets a new standard for the Comedy genre.

Overwhelmed.

Teddy Walker (Kevin Hart) is a middle-aged man who doesn't have it all, but he's found himself a niche as a prolific grill salesman. His elderly boss loves Teddy like a son and promises him the business upon his retirement. But when Teddy accidentally destroys the store following a mishap while proposing to his girlfriend Lisa (Megalyn Echikunwoke), his dreams of a better future are shattered. And he has no fallback position. Years ago, Teddy walked out on high school. He has no diploma and no hope of landing any job with any real value other than keeping him busy and ensuring he doesn't starve. He has no choice but to go back to school to earn his GED in hopes that that will be enough to get him back in the "meaningful employment" game and keep Lisa in his life, who he believes will walk out in him if he's not holding down a good job with the promise of great financial success. That means returning to the school he walked out on, where the principal is none other than Teddy's old bullying victim, Stewart (Taran Killam). Teddy is under the false impression that night school won't challenge him, but when his teacher Carrie (Tiffany Haddish) reveals otherwise, he and his misfit classmates are left with no choice but to go to extreme measures to ensure they earn that coveted passing grade which, for Teddy and for all of them, is the difference between a life of nothing and the hope of something.

Although Hart receives top billing, the film plays best as an ensemble piece, with the eclectic collection of wayward students the film's highlight. Hart may be the ringleader and the dominant screen presence, but Lee appears to realize, rather quickly, that keeping the focus not so much evenly distributed but on the whole rather than the individual at the head of it is his best plan of attack. The quirky class roster, from a frustrated wife and mother to an aspiring middle-aged pop star, from a paranoid technophobe to an incarcerated thief attending via Skype, means Hart is surrounded by an unpredictable bunch that is easily swayed both by a desire to graduate and improve their lives but also by their relative lack of brainpower which makes them more malleable, more readily willing (though not necessarily able) to work with Hart's Teddy Walker in his scheme to cheat the system and ensure each earns the passing grade necessary to get out of that classroom and on with their lives. The individual class members earn the best laughs in various one-off moments, such as when the prisoner shanks a fellow inmate and finds himself in a prison brawl during class while his classmates helplessly look on or when Mary Lynn Rajskub's Theresa clumsily attempts to seduce the principal in an effort to distract him from shenanigans going on under his nose. Lee sometimes overextends the supporting cast, though, leaving pacing to suffer. The film is overlong for what it is at 111 minutes (and nearly two hours in its extended runtime) but it's difficult to cut the superfluous fat when it's often the best part. Editor Paul Millspaugh does his best balancing act to keep the story intact and allow the support players to shine, but the film definitely feels overstuffed by the end.

Night School's primary struggle stems from its inability to innovate. Though the setting is not fresh, the introduction of adult students into the high school arena is fairly novel. Even as the individual and collective night school class shines, the core story ebbs and flows are stale and often interrupt the camaraderie and fun that exists in more one-off moments that are not necessarily vital to the arching storyline. It's all very predictable, with Hart playing a variation on the character he always plays and finding himself trudging through soulless dialogue and plot points which he works hard to elevate beyond the crudities, but even a comedian of his considerable talents cannot entirely rewrite trite dramatic material that drops him on a predetermined course of action that the audience can predict with confidence from the establishing act. It's a good thing that the support pieces are so much fun because Night School is an empty shell at its core.

Night School Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Night School reveals its digital roots from the outset with a fairly heavy noise field evident from the very first shot forward. Even in better lit scenes noise appears in some quantity but pushes to an undesirably dense layer in lower light. Additional, though relatively minor, source and encode issues are apparent, such as aliasing clearly visible on Teddy's work shirt at the eight-minute mark or more severely on the principal's sweater at the 46:09 mark. The image is otherwise very proficient, offering high yield textures and colors. Facial features are about as complex as the 1080p format allows, boasting, rich, dense, and highly detailed intricacies that bring each character to life. Clothing lines are a highlight, and the high-end clarity allows for razor-sharp visibility on all surfaces, from the night school classroom to a fast food chicken restaurant. Colors are many and intense. The Blu-ray may not be able to offer the density, fullness, punch, and more even saturation found on the UHD, but there's no shortage of diverse, flavorful colors to leap off the screen throughout the film. Colorful clothes are the unequivocal standout, with brilliant oranges, yellows, blues, and reds offering eye candy level dazzle. Black levels are fine and skin tones appear accurate. Beyond some source noise and a few scattered artifacts, this one's very good. But the UHD is even better, and by a lot in terms of its color reproduction.

Night School Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Night School's DTS:X soundtrack features considerable activity that always pulls the listener into the sonic madness that accompanies a number of high value comedic scenes. When a young Teddy struggles with his test in the film's opening flashback, various figures and words and numbers lift off the test booklet and swirl around him, and the listener, with seamless movement and high impact depth. There is no shortage of similar involved moments in the track. Surround usage is regular, intense, and detailed, including in some similar scenes but also when Teddy accidentally blows up the grill store, when he crashes his car outside the school (with the help of an irritated tow truck driver), or during a school dance where the beats crank up and the speakers crank out a fully realized listening environment. Bass extension is fabulous, with thumping dance beats or heavy crash and explosion effects complimenting key moments throughout. The overhead channels are largely utilized in seamless support, such as in carrying reverb through the ceremony near film's end, but a few discrete effects pop up from time to time, including a blaring school alarm in chapter 12, followed by some top-down loudspeaker warnings. Musical clarity is wonderful, with full-bodied detailing, excellent front-side width, and perfectly balanced surround support. Basic dialogue is clear, well prioritized, and firmly positioned in the center channel.

Note that the English DVS track is only available with the theatrical version of the film.

Night School Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Night School's Blu-ray contains two cuts of the film: Theatrical (1:51:16) and Extended (1:56:01). Supplementally, the package features an alternate open, deleted scenes, a gag reel, numerous featurettes, and an audio commentary track. A DVD copy of the film and a Movies Anywhere digital copy code are included with purchase. This release ships with an embossed slipcover.

• Alterante Opening (1080p, 6:29): With optional commentary by Director Malcolm. D. Lee.
• Deleted Scenes (1080p, 13:27 total runtime): Included are Pluck Brow, Brick Wall, Border Crossing, Macs Wrestling, The Truth, and Flash Cards. With optional commentary by Director Malcolm. D. Lee.
• Gag Reel (1080p, 11:04): Humorous moments from the shoot.
• Night School's in Session! (1080p, 13:33): Dubbed "Roll Calls," this collection of extras features cast and crew discussing the characters and patting one another on the back. The following characters (and the actors who portray them) are discussed: Teddy, Carrie, Big Mac, Jaylen, Luis, Mila, Theresa, and Stewart.
• Who's the Student? Who's the Teacher? (1080p, 2:33): Breaking down the relationship between Teddy and Carrie.
• Prom Night Revisited (1080p, 3:07): Not a closer look at the scene in which the night school students crash the high school prom but rather the cast recalling their real life prom experiences.
• Cap 'N Gown 'N Giggles (1080p, 2:08): A quick look inside the film's graduation scene.
• Making of the Dance Battle (1080p, 3:45): A quick look inside the film's dance battle scene.
• Christian Chicken (1080p, 0:40): Teddy hosts a commercial for the fictional fast food joint featured in the film.
• Game Over (1080p, 1:46): A peek into the Maya character and her relationship with Teddy.
• Extended Performance "El Sueño" (1080p, 2:40): A longer take on Luis' vocal prom performance.
• Audio Commentary: Director Malcolm D. Lee unpacks the movie from all the usual perspectives: cast and characters, plot details, humor, music, scene construction, shooting locales, and more. Available on the theatrical version only.

Night School Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Night School is modestly entertaining, highlighted by the collective shenanigans and talents of the students in the class. But the film is otherwise a rote 201X Comedy that cobbles together a predictable and empty story. The movie works best around the edges, where the classmates shine, but the film rings hollow at its center. Universal's Blu-ray delivers solid video, enjoyably active audio, and a fairly large collection of extra content. Worth a look.