Cinema has been filled with a host of unlikely duos who on paper don’t look like they will work out, but when you see the contrasting chemistry on screen, it all comes together well. Recent examples being Stiller and De Niro in Meet the Parents, Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill in 21 Jump Street and even Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy in The Heat. And that’s only looking back at the past few years – I could write a whole list from even further back in cinema history. And the upcoming Weinstein Company’s remake of a hit 2012 French comedy-drama, Intouchables, seems like it could offer the same thing.
According to Deadline, reports are that Kevin Hart (Think Like a Man, Ride Along) and Bryan Cranston (Trumbo, Breaking Bad) will be tag-teaming together in the English-language remake which will be directed by Neil Burger (The Illusionist, Limitless, Divergent). Cranston and Hart appear like two completely different characters, with Cranston always seemingly coming across as deeply serious in his films (although it has to be pointed out Cranston’s early comedic turn in Malcolm In the Middle was great), whereas Hart is quite the opposite. Always. Its this contrast though that is likely to make this combination work and I have no doubt that we will see the two playing off each other’s characters frequently in creating much of the film’s humour.
Burger was not the first choice as director for the movie as previously Simon Curtis (My Week With Marilyn, Woman in Gold) was in talks to direct from a screenplay adaptation by Paul Feig (Spy, Ghostbusters). With the news of Burger directing, it’s been announced that a new script draft has been penned by Jon Hartmere with filming expected to start on January 15 in New York.
It’s a pity as I would have loved to see what Paul Feig could’ve done with the script, though he would have no doubt swapped the genders around and replaced Hart for Melissa McCarthy, which in my head, actually sounds like a pretty like-for-like swap.
Now I’ve never watched the original Intouchables ,which starred François Cluzet and Omar Sy, but it was hugely popular and grossed over $425 million in theaters worldwide in 2012, so don’t take my word for it that it was probably quite good. The story revolves around a wealthy quadriplegic who hires a street-wise minority from the poor parts as his caretaker. It doesn’t sound like much, but the film is set up for a wide possibility of humour with its diversity in characters.
Last Updated: August 30, 2016
