(From IMDb.com)

Can they really get along?

Yes, the buddy movie is a cornerstone of what we’re served from the flickering image decision-making world.

Tried-and-true or merely the easy route?

There are so many answers along the scale, I thought after I picked up The Upside from my library’s collection, drawn by the names Kevin Hart and Bryan Cranston. The catalog listed the comedy/drama in the new and available collection, 2019, in fact, but further research revealed that the 2-hour, 6-minute feature directed by Neil Burger from a screenplay by Jon Hartmere actually was released in fall 2017. And that was based on the story from the French film The Intouchables, out just five years prior.

Anyway, Cranston plays a deservedly cranky rich guy sent permanently to his wheelchair after an accident that also took the life of his wife. Hart plays a robust and loud guy, sent out to interview for any and all jobs by his parole officer.

Rich guy needs a live-in caretaker.

Possibly shady guy is the least qualified.

Guess who rich guy hires, stubborn still, against the arched eyebrow of his caring business manager (played very straight by Nicole Kidman)?

From there on we’re left to witness the dubious dance of these two men, both proud beyond their parameters, as they discover things about each other, soften, rebuild walls, bounce back …

Opposites attract. Repel. Repeat. (From IMDb.com)

Chalk up one more for the buddy film, far less comedy and far more drama this time around. It’s somewhere in the middle of the scale, tipping more toward keep the Blu-Ray running, thanks to the talents and dedications of the actors involved.