Film

The Upside

Name: The Upside
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Released: 2019
Cast: Kevin Hart, Bryan Cranston, Nicole Kidman, Golshifteh Farahani, Aja Naomi King

Drama

A heartfelt comedy-drama about a wealthy quadriplegic and an ex-convict caretaker who form an unlikely friendship in a Manhattan penthouse. It's warm without being saccharine, funny without punching down, and genuinely moving—the kind of film that reminds you why people love movies in the first place. For anyone who believes in the redemptive power of human connection.

TMDb rating

3.6

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you enjoy a warm, buddy-style comedy where two very different men slowly stop being wary of each other, and the humour comes from character rather than gags, much like the odd-couple pairing in Intouchables.

Skip it if you want sharp, fast-moving plot or a film that takes its disability and class themes head-on; here the friendship is the engine, and it can feel safe and sentimental at times.

What it asks of you: Settle in for a little over two hours of unhurried, mostly conversational scenes, with lighter moments sitting alongside some heavier life pressures, and it rewards patience more than attention to twists.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

The Intouchables2011

The French original that inspired this: a parasite and a paralyzed nobleman form a bond that transcends class and circumstance. Faster-paced, sharper wit, and the chemistry is electric. A masterclass in unlikely-buddy storytelling.

But Subtitles, and the tone is considerably colder—less sentimentality, more edge. Some find it manipulative in its own way.

Patch Adams1998

Robin Williams as a medical student who believes laughter heals, clashing with institutional rigidity. It has the same earnest belief in human warmth and the same willingness to go broad with comedy alongside genuine emotion.

But Deeply sentimental and occasionally maudlin. The film's sincerity borders on preaching, which will feel heavy-handed if you're skeptical of its message.

Driving Miss Daisy1989

Decades of a caretaker and his employer finding friendship across a vast divide. Quiet, character-driven, and genuinely touching without ever overreaching. Morgan Freeman and Jessica Tandy are simply perfect.

But Glacially paced and almost entirely dialogue-based. Literally a filmed play—some find that claustrophobic rather than intimate.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from The Upside

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

My Left Foot: The Story of Christy Brown1989

Both center disabled men whose humanity depends on being seen as whole people, not problems to solve. But where *The Upside* is about warmth bridging a gap, *My Left Foot* insists the disabled person is already complete.

Daniel Day-Lewis as Christy Brown, an Irish painter with cerebral palsy who communicates through art and sheer force of will. A portrait of disability that refuses sentimentality—Brown is difficult, sexual, ambitious, fully human. The caregiver relationship is real, complex, and never the point of the story.

But Chronologically scattered and emotionally brutal. Some scenes of poverty and despair are genuinely hard to watch. This is not a feel-good film; it's a reclamation.

My Left Foot: The Story of Christy Brown poster

Chef2014

Jon Favreau's love letter to connection and redemption through food and travel. Lighter than *The Upside*, funnier, but with the same belief that people can change and that presence matters more than perfection.

But Meandering and self-indulgent. If you want plot momentum, this won't deliver it—it's pure mood and character.

About a Boy2002

A cynical bachelor and a lonely boy teach each other to be human. Smart, funny, genuinely touching, and it balances humor and emotion with real precision. The friendship feels earned rather than manufactured.

But Aggressively British sensibility and some dated indie-film affectation. The emotional beats, while real, are delivered with a coolness some find distant.

Moonlight2016

Three chapters of a Black man's life and the relationships that save him. Gorgeously shot, poetic, and it understands how love and connection operate in spaces most cinema ignores. Profound without announcing itself.

But Deliberately paced, minimal dialogue, and emotionally heavy. The third act is devastating—it's not cathartic, it's grief. Not for anyone seeking uplift.

Green Book2018

A white driver and a Black pianist on a concert tour through the Jim Crow South form an unlikely bond. It has warmth, humor, and real historical stakes. Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali are a magnetic pair.

But Criticized for centering the white character's growth and softening racism for comfort. The film's optimism about reconciliation can read as naive given the subject matter.

Hachi: A Dog's Tale2009

Richard Gere and a loyal dog form a bond that transcends loss and time. It's achingly sincere about devotion and loyalty, and if you're a sucker for unconditional love, it will wreck you—in the best way.

But Saccharine and melodramatic. Unabashedly tear-jerking, which means if you resist sentiment, this will feel like emotional blackmail dressed in dog fur.

Cinema Paradiso1988

Both use an unlikely friendship between two men from different worlds as the real architecture, but *Cinema Paradiso* is about mentorship and inheritance, while *The Upside* is about mutual transformation. Same shape, opposite direction.

An old projectionist befriends an orphan boy in postwar Sicily, and cinema becomes their language when words fail. Warm, funny, and genuinely moving without ever turning manipulative. It's a love letter to movies and to the people who teach us to see.

But Nostalgia can suffocate—some find it too indulgent in its love of cinema and the past. The emotional climax arrives on a note of melancholy that resolves nothing and heals nothing.