I saw "Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain", starring Kevin Hart-Think Like a Man, Death at a Funeral.

This is a documentary about Kevin Hart doing his stand up comedy act. It starts with Kevin at a party with friends and fans. Some of the fans start getting on his nerves by saying things that they say Kevin said-he denies it-and accusing him of doing things that he says he didn't. One fan even accuses Kevin of being a LAB, which stands for 'Local-Ass-Bitch' and it refers to where he performs his stand up-they are saying he has never been out of the country. Kevin gets so angry that he tells his agent, who luckily is also at the party, that he needs to book Madison Square Garden right now, so he can explain his side of things. Clips are shown of Kevin performing in other countries such as Sweden, The Netherlands, Canada and England, all to sold out crowds. The rest of the movie, he is shown at Madison Square Garden, New York, performing to a sold out crowd-It is mentioned that he is in rare company of being only the second comedian to perform there-they did not mention the first. I thought his stand up was amusing-mostly about relationships-but not laugh-out-loud funny. I like him better in movies, where he is acting. But, there were other people in the theater that laughed more than I did. It is rated "R" for language and sexual references and has a running time of 1 hour & 15 minutes. It's not one that I would buy on DVD. It would be alright, as a rental, if you are a fan, otherwise, I would wait until it hits cable t.v.

Kevin Hart claims that his success has engendered false perceptions about his life. He wants to set the record straight by putting out a performance at Madison Square Garden. He starts by traveling the world with his "Let Me Explain" comedic tour.

That's the setup. It has the effect of play acting. It's an excuse to make a bunch of observational jokes mostly about his various women. The audience is mostly black and they are exuberant in their laughing. One thing Kevin Hart does is that he makes the effort. He is all energy and sweat. He puts his everything into his performance. There are some laughs but I find the reaction shots overwhelm the jokes. I'm not saying the jokes are bad. They are functional but not outrageously funny. One should avoid the cleaned up version since Kevin is swearing up a storm. Part of the fun is the swearing.

Kevin Hart is one comedian many people can say they watched rise to stardom. I caught the train midway when I saw him do his thing on Comedy Central Presents a several years ago and have been following him ever since. For a man so new to the game, at the time, he had a great sense of going off the audience's vibe, and even to this day does he remain at self-aware of the public, not letting the fame go to his head in an identifiable way.

His first theatrical comedian special titled Kevin Hart: Laugh at My Pain, which was released in 2011, was a passable film that would serve introductory purposes quite well, but seemed to be missing the genuine spark that his specials I'm a Grown Little Man and Seriously Funny possessed. Not to mention, the skits the film featured bordered on mildly amusing to downright tedious and unfunny. It was approximately fifty-minutes of stand-up comedy and thirty of redundant skits.

Needless to say, there was notable hesitation between me and Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain, which arrives in theaters with a seemingly bigger, brasher marketing scheme than the one that Laugh at My Pain had. Especially seeing as the film opens with a setup, directed by Tim Story, similar to the one in the previous films that was downright cliché and easily-dismissible. It features Hart at a large party he is hosting, stating he'll pay for all the alcohol and he'll show all his guests a good time. Just when all is going good, people come up and say that he has said things he hasn't said, done things without clear justification, and, according to a fan, is a "LAB" ("local-ass bitch" in terms of where he performs). While Hart tries to get a word in and explain his side of the story, no one lets him. He eventually demands his agent to book him a last-minute performance at Madison Square Garden in New York so he can explain his story.

What follows is Hart shedding light and revealing some scandalous things about him that made headlines recently and shows that he is definitely not a "LAB," seeing as he has performed abroad in places like Denmark, Oslo, and Copenhagen. Then, finally, we get the concert, which is often very funny and very down-to-earth. Hart, first, introduces what he calls "pointless fire," which is random, ten foot tall lines of fire that shoot up on Hart's cue to add some flavor and spice to his show (he says he got the idea from a Jay-Z concert).

Hart's topics involve being so happy you feed the pigeons in the park (which features Hart doing one of the most hilarious women-impressions I've heard in a while),women and their love of proving men wrong, except for one percent of the time, publicity issues he takes care of early on, and more. Let Me Explain isn't deep by any means; it sort of treads water on being a vanity project for Hart himself seeing as he almost never directs the content and humor away from himself. However, he isn't totally narcissistic and bravely admits and shows that he is still in touch with his roots despite his near-"global brand" name, he explains in the film.

Not to mention, much of Hart's humor derives from his quick-witted wordplay, his hilarious, conservative use of catchphrases (first it was "Alright, alright, alright!" now it's "No! No! No! No! No!" accompanied by a high, squeaky voice and an explanation),and his jivey-presence on a big stage. Even with a place as large and as massive as the Garden, Hart's small-self doesn't have much trouble catering to its enormous status.

On a concluding note, it's also surprising to note how emotional and strong the finale was in terms of personal-resonance. Hart tells us it's rare for comedians to perform at the Garden and the fact that he has had this opportunity almost makes him go into a tear-session. It's a strong, beautiful little scene that concludes the film on a remarkably close to home note that indicates what can happen if dreams succeed, as cliché as that sounds. The best thing is he doesn't go into a "rags to riches" like memoir and keeps it simple. No need to explain on that.

NOTE: My video review of Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWGBs1Z42pQ

Starring: Kevin Hart. Directed by: Leslie Small and Tim Story.