Night School is a 2018 American buddy comedy film directed by Malcolm D. Lee and starring Kevin Hart and Tiffany Haddish. Hart also produced the film alongside Will Packer, as well as co-wrote the screenplay with Harry Ratchford, Joey Wells, Matt Kellard, Nicholas Stoller and John Hamburg. The film follows a group of misfit adult students who enroll in a night school class to prepare for the GED exam, while dealing with their personal and professional challenges. The film also features Rob Riggle, Taran Killam, Romany Malco, Megalyn Echikunwoke, Al Madrigal, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Keith David, Anne Winters, Fat Joe, Ben Schwartz, Yvonne Orji, and Bresha Webb in supporting roles.
Night School was theatrically released in the United States by Universal Pictures on September 28, 2018. It received generally negative reviews from critics, who criticized the film's humor, script, and length, but praised the performances of Hart and Haddish. The film was a box office success, grossing over $103 million worldwide against a budget of $29 million.
Plot[]
Teddy Walker is a successful salesman whose life takes an unexpected turn when he accidentally blows up his place of employment. Forced to attend night school to get his GED, Teddy soon finds himself dealing with a group of misfit students, his former high school nemesis and a feisty teacher who doesn't think he's too bright.
Cast[]
- Kevin Hart as Teddy Walker, a high school dropout who wants to get his GED
- Tiffany Haddish as Carrie, a no-nonsense night school teacher
- Rob Riggle as Mackenzie, a dim-witted student and Teddy's friend
- Taran Killam as Stewart, the school principal and Teddy's former classmate who bullied him in high school
- Romany Malco as Jaylen, a conspiracy theorist and student
- Megalyn Echikunwoke as Lisa, Teddy's fiancée
- Al Madrigal as Luis, a waiter and aspiring singer who is also a student
- Mary Lynn Rajskub as Theresa, a bored housewife and mother of three who is also a student
- Keith David as Gerald, Teddy's father
- Anne Winters as Mila, a rebellious teenager and student
- Fat Joe as Bobby, a prisoner who attends the night school class via Skype
- Ben Schwartz as Marvin, Teddy's best friend and financial adviser
- Yvonne Orji as Maya, the school counselor
- Bresha Webb as Denise, Carrie's friend and fellow teacher
- Jeff Rose as Isaac, Lisa's ex-boyfriend
- Donna Biscoe as Carole Walker, Teddy's mother
- Owen Harn as Randy, Theresa's husband
Production[]
In September 2017, it was announced that Malcolm D. Lee would direct the film, with Kevin Hart starring and producing. Tiffany Haddish was cast in October, and the rest of the cast joined in November and December. Filming began in September 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia and ended in December 2017.
Release[]
Night School was released in the United States on September 28, 2018, by Universal Pictures. It was previously scheduled for September 21, 2018.
Reception[]
Box office[]
Night School grossed $77.3 million in the United States and Canada, and $25.8 million in other territories, for a total worldwide gross of $103.1 million, against a production budget of $29 million.
In the United States and Canada, Night School was released alongside Smallfoot, H--- Fest and Little Women, and was projected to gross $25–30 million from 3,010 theaters in its opening weekend. The film made $9.5 million on its first day, including $1.35 million from Thursday night previews. It went on to debut to $27.3 million, topping the box office and marking the best opening of Haddish's career and the fifth-best for Hart. The film fell 55% in its second weekend to $12.3 million, finishing second behind newcomer Venom, and then made $8 million in its third weekend, finishing fourth.
Critical response[]
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 27% based on 140 reviews, with an average rating of 4.2/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Night School's funny stars and seemingly promising setup add up to a disappointingly scattershot comedy whose laughs are largely flunked." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 43 out of 100, based on 33 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A–" on an A+ to F scale, while PostTrak reported filmgoers gave it 3.5 out of 5 stars.
Peter Debruge of Variety wrote, "Hart and Haddish are both funny as h---, and capable of elevating any material, but Night School offers a case study in how their contrasting styles might be better served by a smarter, more consistently hilarious movie." David Ehrlich of IndieWire gave the film a grade of C– and said, "The movie is so lazy and haphazard that it doesn't even bother to resolve some of its most glaring conflicts; it's so unfunny that it makes you wonder if Hart and Haddish have lost their touch, or if they ever had it in the first place." Johnny Oleksinski of the New York Post gave the film one star out of four and called it "one of the year's worst movies", writing, "The script is so witless and aimless, you wonder if it was written in detention. And the direction, by Malcolm D. Lee, is so flat and uninspired, you wish he'd gone to summer school."