REVIEW #116 True Story (2021)

True Story is a Netflix original limited series directed by Stephen Williams and Hanelle M. Culpepper. It follows comedian and global film star ‘Kid’ as he returns to his home town of Philadelphia on the latest leg of his comedy tour. Under the influence of his brother Carlton, Kid continues to make bad decisions that could not only ruin his life but could put him in prison. 

CAST & THE ACTING 

True Story has a fantastic cast, led by Kevin Hart and Wesley Snipes who play Kid and Carlton respectively. I always enjoy seeing Kevin Hart in more serious roles, showing his range as an actor. I could imagine this role meant a lot more to him considering the similarities between himself and the main character Kid, that passion certainly comes through on screen. Wesley Snipes also performed well, the older brother who is always dragging Kid down. There wasn’t as much emotion with his character, he was an old fashioned tough guy type persona, so almost always had a wall up. However in some cases that can be just as difficult to portray. I was surprised to see so many other familiar faces too, with Paul Adelstein playing Todd, Theo Rossi playing Gene, William Catlett playing Herschel and Billy Zane playing Ari. I particularly enjoyed Theo Rossi’s performance, he always seems to get so immersed in his roles and it makes him great to watch! So overall a good cast with some strong performances.

PLOT & THE STORYLINE 

It’s clear that the main character Kid was based on Kevin Hart, the pair had so many similarities and I believe Hart himself had someone attempt to extort him, so I would imagine he was familiar with many of the emotions his character experiences. The story is certainly dramatised with big events written in to up the stakes and place pressure on the protagonist, but I enjoyed it. It worked well as a limited series, keeping me on the edge of my seat which is why I finished it all in pretty much one sitting. I do think the twist at the end was pretty obvious, I guessed it in the first episode so it was no surprise when the big reveal finally be happened. They could have done better there to make it less obvious but what I will say is how Kid got out of it all in the end did take me by surprise. It was bold but I’m glad they decided to go down that route as it tied it all together and finished it nicely without leaving any questions needing to be answered. So I think the storyline was actually quite creative.

CINEMATOGRAPHY & SPECIAL EFFECTS 

I think the cinematography was pretty basic, there aren’t any scenes that stand out in my mind for having great visuals, or having a great soundtrack or anything like that. That doesn’t hinder the show at all, it was still to a high enough quality to be a good limited series but I think the main focus was the acting and storytelling and that’s okay. I think they made the right choice of having small 35 minute episodes because it kept the pacing on track, a fast pace to help build the tension up and to keep the audience on the edge of their seat. So not too much to mention in this category. 

OVERALL (7/10)

True Story was a creative twist, based on what seems to be Kevin Harts life. I think that investment in the character certainly emphasised his performance because he seemed to be so in tune with the character. The rest of the cast done well and combined with a gripping storyline the series as a whole had me on the edge of my seat the entire time. The twist is really obvious, that’s probably the biggest let down but it does still have plenty of other moments that surprises you. The cinematography was kept pretty basic and there wasn’t any need for special effects but overall it’s an easy watch and I certainly enjoyed it. It’s always good to see Kevin Hart explore more serious roles! So I’d definitely recommend giving it a watch if you have time.

Thanks for reading. 

Callan