Night School review – on a learning journey

Girls Trip director Malcolm D Lee cashes in on his collaboration with Tiffany Haddish, casting her here as Carrie, a rambunctious teacher tasked with helping Kevin Hart’s high-school dropout get his general education development qualification in this cheerfully predictable, Atlanta-set comedy. “You look like bad credit,” Hart’s Teddy sneers at college hopefuls in an exam hall flashback. “I’m-a succeed in the school of life.”

After an unfortunate explosion sees the Joe’s BBQ and Luxury Patio Store employee of the month relegated to the drive-through window at Christian Chicken, Teddy decides to pass his tests so that he can blag a job as a financial analyst and retain the affections of his high-earning fiancee, Lisa (Megalyn Echikunwoke, whom you might recognise from TV series 24). After all, all these guys do is “bullshit clients all day about stuff they don’t understand”, he says.

Though Lee is versatile, I’m not sure he directs comedy as efficiently as he does romantic dramas such as The Best Man films. Certain set pieces work better than others; there’s physical comedy in a high-school heist scene involving Hart and the other students, but a groan-inducing moment involving cheesecake and pubic hair lands the wrong side of gross-out. Still, it’s good-natured enough, taking generous swipes at the American public school system and creating empathy for each of Carrie’s adult learners. Really, though, the film is a vehicle for Haddish, whose timing and delivery make the jokes jump off the page.