Kevin Hart went from being a stand-up comedian to a Hollywood leading man in what feels like the blink of an eye. Of course, he’s primarily a comedic actor whose films have a certain silliness that doesn’t usually fare well with critics. You’d think this might get him down, but as it turns out, he pays zero attention to such attention, and there’s a pretty legitimate reason as to why.
Kevin Hart’s series from 2020, Die Hart, has an 80% on Rotten Tomatoes. I caught up with the comic to talk about the fantastically-titled sequel season, Die Hart 2: Die Harter, which is coming our way March 31 on Roku. When I mentioned the comparatively high Rotten Tomatoes score, Hart said the following:
You know, I don’t look at none of that, to be honest with you. I’ve never paid attention to it. I don’t think I’ve gotten good scores or Rotten Tomatoes or anything throughout my career, so I don’t want them. Don’t start now. I mean, it has been going pretty good without it, so don’t make a change now and start giving me amazing scores. Keep it to yourself! I’ll let the audience give me the scores. Those are the reviews I want. Not the not the critics. I don’t want those.
He makes a valid point here. I mean, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. His latest film, Me Time, is a perfect example. The reviews were brutal, and it has a 6% on Rotten Tomatoes. Yes, you read that correctly; not 60%, but 6%. Yet that stop the film from taking the #1 spot on Netflix? Nope. Kevin Hart even praised Netflix and showed the utmost appreciation for Me Time’s success. The point is, Hart’s career is something to behold, and if terrible critical reviews are currently a part of that formula, so be it. In an effort not to be tacky, I’ll let you Google his net worth yourself, and we can all agree that good reviews might be a worthy sacrifice.
It’s important to note that Hart went on to clarify he has no ill will towards critics, stating that “their job is to critique.” After all, he’s proven that he can take a joke at his own expense, and finds things like being the subject of viral memes amusing. Given how much shade he throws at friend and frequent collaborator Dwayne Johnson, it’s important that he can take it as well as dish it out.
Speaking of Dwayne Johnson, the two are trying to get the ball rolling on another Jumanji film. Hart is also working on a romantic comedy with Keke Palmer and is jazzed to be rebooting Planes, Trains and Automobiles alongside Will Smith. And then let’s not forget he’s always selling out stand-up shows as well. The point is, his 6% Rotten Tomatoes score was just last year, and his career has shown no signs of slowing down. If I were him, I probably wouldn’t pay attention to critics, either.
You can see Die Hart 2: Die Harter (opens in new tab) on Roku right now! Of course, we’ve also got you covered as far as everything else that’s coming to television this year.