About Last Night

Remakes are minefields, as they can blow up if not done right; fortunately, ABOUT LAST NIGHT lays no such trap. It's terrific. Start with four leads who bring their A-game. Michael Ealy is especially smooth, his Danny a believable modern guy who's flummoxed by modern-day relationships. Kevin Hart, as the mouthy, funny Bernie, risks going over the top sometimes, but never does, and he finds the most hilarious beats in every line. Ditto Regina Hall. If there's a weaker link among the four, it's Joy Bryant, and only because her character isn't as ostentatious or befuddled. And her chemistry with Ealy is there, though not sizzling, which makes their supposedly irresistible connection slightly less convincing.

There's not much that will shock audiences here, since the "sexual perversity" from the play on which this is based -- romantic confusion amid lots of hookups and miscommunication -- isn't all that perverse anymore. Still, most everyone can relate to the intricacies of navigating friendships -- especially when one is single and the other isn't -- and the ambivalence and ambiguity that permeates the first months, even the first year, of a relationship. About Last Night reminds us how awkward and tension-filled that can be, and how rewarding it often is.