I shut down the Kevin Hart roast after about twenty minutes because, well, it wasn’t the Tom Brady roast.
From the jump, it felt off. Usher performed. Yes, of course, the man can sing, but it seemed more like an awards show performance. Shane Gillis was the MC. Sure, the man cracks great one-liners, but he lacks Hart’s charisma, at least in the few minutes I saw, to carry this type of affair.
Photo courtesy What’s on Netflix
Shocking isn’t necessarily funny. In fact, it seemed like Netflix would have preferred if Hart hosted his own roast. Hart addressed the audience early on, which led directly to a moment with his roast target from two years ago.
Most of the comics had the good sense to stay away. Unless they made surprise appearances, Nikki Glaser, Sam Jay, and Andrew Schulz, among others, were no-shows. Tony Hinchcliffe returned, and Chelsea Handler “stood in” for Glaser.
Did Netflix not announce who would be appearing because they were scrambling to get bodies? Ultimately, the dais felt like a ghost town. Gronk, Edelman, and the rest of the New England Patriots were desperately missed. And even if an all-star list of comedians showed, who cares?
Brady made a surprise appearance (photo, USA Today)
Yes, Tom Brady roasted Hart. It was OK, but Brady’s delivery feels about as natural as, well, his jaw line. That said, it was good having Brady there because everyone wanted a Tom Brady roast sequel, and this fed into that. However, it was also very bad because it reminded everyone that this was definitely not the Tom Brady roast.
Comics ranking on other comics is old hat. There was something unique and genuine about watching the Patriots put their locker-room banter out into the world. And they were quite wonderful at it.
I shut off the Kevin Hart sequel because it felt contrived, wasn’t hilarious, and because I could. Perhaps I will try again at some point. My expectations have been lowered.
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Jon Hart is the author of Unfortunately, I was available, the sequel to Man versus Ball: One Ordinary Guy and His Extraordinary Sports Adventures.
Agreed. I watched the whole thing, but it was nowhere near the Tom Brady roast. You hit the nail on the head that the banter between true friends who actually know each other is what makes a great roast. Having great comedians (which this roast severely lacked; thank you to Tony Hinchcliffe and Big Jay Oakerson for showing up and providing some true comic relief) helps, but the chemistry between teammates and friends make roasts special. The Comedy Central Roast of James Franco is one of the greatest roasts ever because of the true friendships on stage (and the fact that the friends who showed up were A-List celebs on top of that).
I was so mad that Kevin Hart got to have a mic. I’ll give him the opening that set up Tom Brady’s entrance, but after that, he should not have been allowed to talk into a mic for the rest of the roast until it was his chance to do the roasting. That’s how roasts work. Netflix made it too over the top, but I’m sure a lot of that had to do with Kevin Hart wanting to do things that way.
As someone who loves roasts and was anticipating this for a while, I was very disappointed in this roast, and I hope Netflix can get it right again on their next one.