Road Hard (2015)

Starring: Adam Carolla, Diane Farr, Larry Miller, Cynthy Wu, David Alan Grier

Directed by: Adam Carolla & Kevin Hench

Synopsis:  A comedian has to go back to the grind of doing stand-up on the road in order to pay for his daughter’s college and lotion for self-pleasures.

*spoilers below!*

What Works:

• Adam Carolla is completely likable and identifiable.
• Great supporting characters, with Diane Farr as a very sweet love interest, Larry Miller as a sleazy agent, and David Alan Grier as washed-up comedian David Alan Grier.
• Very funny script that shows the life of a stand-up comedian like few movies have ever done.
• A fair amount of boobs, which was unexpected. Two of them even looked real!

What Doesn’t Work:  

• The budding romance happens way too quickly, and kind of makes you scratch your head from the woman’s perspective (which I’m always honed in on).
• The story as a whole is a little all over the place, and the threads never really come together all that well.
• There are a couple of characters who are introduced and then dropped. For example, we should have seen a lot more of David Koechner’s character.
• I didn’t understand why at the end Adam’s character couldn’t have just had the best of both worlds. What is he doing for money now?

Overall: A very solid comedy in a world bereft of them. How much you’ll like this entirely hinges on your enjoyment of Adam and his humor. A lot of people don’t give him a fair shake because they just think Man Show and his unique voice. I was basically in the same boat until I gave him a chance and now I’m completely hooked on his talent and have been a steady listener to his podcast the past couple years, supplanting Howard Stern on my commute. I’d have to say I liked Adam’s previous film, The Hammer, a little better, as it was overall a little funnier and the story arc was tighter. But for a movie that was made through crowdfunding, Road Hard is done very well, and I still thoroughly enjoyed it and would recommend it to any fans of adult comedies. You can watch it on VOD or iTunes now. Or whenever you get home from work.

Score: 7.5 airplane anxiety dogs (out of 10)