Kevin Hart irritates me. You can say I have a love/hate relationship with his work. If you have seen any reviews I’ve written for Kevin Hart flicks, you know I enjoy his standup, but don’t like many of his movies. Woody Harrelson is typically a hit for me no matter how big or small the role is. That being said, THE MAN FROM TORONTO is the ultimate test for me – will Harrelson be enough? Or is Kevin Hart going to drag another flick down for me?
Kevin Hart plays Teddy Jackson, a YouTube host for pitiful attempts at promoting workout equipment. His products are just items with Teddy in front of them – Teddy Bands/Teddy Bars for pull-ups. He’s not all that successful to put it nicely. He wants to change the way he does things and wants to start by taking his wife, Ruth (Jasmine Matthews) on a birthday getaway at a cabin in Onancock, Va. The goal here is to not “pull a Teddy”. It doesn’t quite work out that way and how it happens is ridiculous, but I still won’t spoil it for you.
Teddy ends up being at the place that Randy “The Man From Toronto” is supposed to be. One of the main trends in this flick is that miscommunications can lead to things going haywire. Teddy is mistaken for Randy and this sets off the chain of events that leads us down this insane path. Woody Harrelson is solid in this one and makes it watchable. Jasmine Mathews as Ruth does a fine job as well as Kaley Cuoco who plays Ruth’s friend, Maggie.
The problem here is still Kevin Hart. He is way too over the top for me. If you enjoy his movie antics, then I’m sure you will enjoy this one as well. Listen closely to some of the things he says during heated moments with a Bond-type villain in Randy. As I stated earlier, the reason the story even happens is ridiculous in 2022. Woody just wasn’t enough to save this one.