After failing high school, Teddy (Hart) made the most of a deadend job, living above his means. Even his girlfriend Lisa (Echikunwoke) is out of his league. So he decides to take the equivalency exam at his old school, where his nemesis classmate Stewart (Killam) is now principal. Even more challenging is his teacher Carrie (Haddish), who doesn't accept any nonsense from the class of misfits (Riggle, Rajskub, Madrigal, Malco and Winters). Meanwhile, Teddy lies to Lisa about where he is at night, saying he has a new finance job with his best pal (Schwartz).

There are plenty of potential gags here, from the Christian Chicken fast-food shop where Teddy takes a temp job to the mixed martial-arts cage Carrie uses to get Teddy to focus. But the filmmakers only find minimal comedy in the situations, apparently hoping Hart and Haddish would provide more. Indeed, the most amusing moments feel improvised, and thankfully there are a few of these to paper over some diabolically unfunny set-pieces.

As usual, Haddish steals the show, playing it relatively straight while delivering take-no-prisoner one-liners. She's the only character in control of her destiny, and the only one who remains consistent from start to finish. Opposite her, Hart seems like he's trying way too hard to coax a laugh from the audience. When he relaxes, he's genuinely charming and funny, but Teddy is such an unlikeable lout that he's difficult to sympathise with. And the same issue clouds most of the other characters as well.

More problematic is the way the premise is only used as a joke. That these people feel they need high school diplomas in order to sort out their under-employment is simply a given, presented as if it's the answer to all their problems. Yes, this is a comedy, so it doesn't need to grapple with the gritty realities. But just a bit of earthy honesty would have provided a lot more resonant humour than merely laughing at Hart's height. Again and again.

themes, language, violence

24.Sep..18