French comedy-drama The Intouchables, about a wealthy quadriplegic who hires a street-wise minority from the projects as his caretaker, grossed over $425 million in theaters worldwide throughout 2012, so naturally rights were quickly acquired for an upcoming English-language retelling of the story.
Now it’s being reported the U.S. remake, headed up by The Weinstein Company, has finally found its star duo in Colin Firth (The King’s Speech) and Kevin Hart (Think Like a Man). Firth, long attached to the project, will take over as François Cluzet’s wealthy quadriplegic character, while Hart will replace Omar Sy as the young man from the projects who cares for him.
Hart brings bankability to the project via a built-in fan base, largely from his stand-up comedy but more recently in films such as Think Like a Man, Ride Along, and About Last Night. However, the large bulk of his work relies on out-and-out hilarity, which makes me skeptical if he’s right for the role originated by Omar Sy.
More than anything, I have a tough time seeing Hart scale back his massive personality and play something that requires a more serious spin. He has done less overtly hilarious work before, most memorably for me as a two-episode guest star on “Modern Family“, but we’ll just have to wait this one out and see what he brings to the character.
It’s worth noting the role requires a big personality, to an extent, which Sy brought in droves. However, it also requires a deft balance of charm and emotional depth, something I think someone like Michael B. Jordan (Fruitvale Station) would have easily pulled off. But Hart, well, I’m just not sure. Who knows, maybe he’ll surprise us.
For those of you who haven’t seen The Intouchables it’s currently streaming on Netflix, and it’s fantastic, so if you’ve got a subscription I encourage you to check it out. You can also watch a trailer for the original film below to get a feel for what it has to offer.
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