Kevin Hart and contemporary comedy

Kevin Hart

Of all the comedians on the A-list circuit now, Kevin Hart has the most heart. His humor appeals to people from all backgrounds, but he comes firmly from an African-American perspective. One of the reasons why Kevin Hart is one of the best comedians today is that his style is diverse. He is an actor as well as a comedian, and to prove that he has serious chops as well as a funny bone, Hart will be the lead in an upcoming movie entitled The Impossible Dream, which is about "Precious McKenzie, a South African-born competitive weightlifter who overcame poverty and oppression to win several world powerlifting competitions despite his diminutive, (4-foot-9) stature," (Rechtshaffen). The film will also feature Nick Nolte, Kim Basinger and Tatyana Ali. Hart is himself diminutive in stature, and frequently makes fun of that fact in his stand-up routines. Therefore, one of the reasons why Kevin Hart is the best comedians today is because he makes fun of himself as well as other people. A good comedian can always make fun of himself, and does not take himself too seriously.

Kevin Hart repeatedly refers to his young daughter in his stand-up routines, and those parts end up being some of the funniest because of his irreverent style. Instead of the expected ways of addressing children, Hart calls his daughter an "asshole," and says, "Who the fuck do you think you're talking to?" Without seeing the routine, it seems terrible to talk to or about a kid in that way; but in the context of the routine it becomes clear that Hart would never actually speak to a child that way. What makes the bit funny is that he voices what no one else would dare to voice: referring to kids with swear words.

Highlighting his flexibility as a comedian, Kevin Hart also uses vocalizations and impersonations. For example, he uses onomatopoeia: vocalizing the sounds that objects makes including guns shooting. Hart also gives good impressions of different types of people: from his girlfriend's white dad to the ex-con who was Sponge Bob at his daughter's birthday party (in Laugh at My Pain). In one segment of I'm a Grown Little Man, Hart states, "I wish I could be a rapper, but I can't because my voice is too high." He then proceeds to exaggerate his own voice, making it sound effeminate when he says unfeminine statements like "everybody gonna die tonight!" The incongruity of his high voice and the statement "everybody gonna die tonight!" is as funny as the falsetto voice itself.