#123: Road Hard

Release Date: March 6th, 2015

Format: Streaming (Tubi)

Written by: Adam Carolla and Kevin Hench

Directed by: Adam Carolla and Kevin Hench

1.5 Stars

The Hammer is a semi-autobiographical movie written by and starring Adam Carolla. It is a good movie.

Road Hard is a semi-autobiographical movie written by and starring Adam Carolla. It is a bad movie. 

I could list a number of reasons for why Road Hard just isn’t as good, from its bland digital photography, to its uneven performances (although Larry Miller absolutely crushes it), to its desperate emphasis on wedging in bits and punchlines and Carolla’s comedian friends into each scene. 

But I think tone is the main culprit here. 

The Hammer is lovably self-deprecating. It is about a humble loser who doesn’t believe much in himself, even though the audience kinda likes him and thinks, hey, maybe he should believe in himself.

Road Hard is uneven, somehow both resentful and sappy. The main character is at war with the world around him - his ex-wife, his failing career - and he can’t bear it. He’s right, and they’re wrong. When the redemptive arc finally happens and he finds love, it doesn’t work. It’s oddly saccarine, almost embarrassingly so. As an actor I don’t think Carolla can carry the weight of this character, and as a director, I think he would have been better served hiring someone with experience to help him hone the performances and story beats.

There’s that cliche that an artist has their whole life to create their first work, it’s the second work that’s the tricky one. This cliche seems true for Adam Carolla’s film career.