Star of Reality Opposite on Netflix, Kevin Hart plays a successful comedian whose life will be turned upside down. Is this drama series inspired by the comedian’s own life? Be careful, spoilers.
Be careful, spoilers. Certain passages of the article may reveal elements of the plot of the series. It is advisable to have seen the series before continuing to read this article.
Recently released online and already in the top of viewings on Netflix, La Réalité en face is a 7-part series that stars Kevin Hart as a famous comedian named Kid. While on tour, the actor stops in Philadelphia, his hometown, where he meets his older brother Carlton, played by Wesley Snipes.
But a drunken evening with the latter will make Kid face his responsibilities and make him realize that he can lose everything he took time to build. The descent into hell then begins for the comedian, who loses his footing and makes a series of mistakes with his family, his managers and his fans.
A story not so far from a certain reality
If the series has been renamed La Réalité en face in French, you should know that it is called True Story in the original version. This title can make think that it is then really about a very real story which would have happened to Kevin Hart. But La Réalité en face is not a biopic or inspired by a real story.
Even though this stand-up laughter star has portrayed his own character or fictionalized versions of himself in other dramas before, this is not the case in this original series created and developed by Eric Newman, producer of Narcos and Narcos: Mexico.
Adam Rose / Netflix
Nonetheless, Kevin Hart shares similarities with his character on the show. He and Kid are both from Philadelphia and started their respective stand-up careers before exploding into blockbusters and other dramas on the small and big screen.
Further details of Kid’s character on the show show that the show likely drew on Kevin Hart’s life in broad outline without it being a true biopic. Kevin Hart has had traumatic fan experiences before, such as Kid with his fan Gene (Theo Rossi), and was the victim of a major robbery.
Adam Rose / Netflix
In addition, the actor saw his divorce with his ex-wife Torrei be at the heart of the scandal press and had to apologize publicly for his deceptions, in particular with his current partner, who was his mistress, and a sextape for which he was blackmailed. In the series, Kid’s divorce also makes the headlines, but this time it’s his ex-girlfriend who has already found love in the arms of another.
Finally, the relationship between Kid and Carlton may in many ways be reminiscent of Kevin Hart’s relationship with his brother Robert. The actor had mentioned Robert’s former affiliation with drug gangs in his documentary Don’t Fuck This Up, on Netflix. In The Face of Reality, Carlton always asks Kid for services and money because he is in debt with dangerous criminals. It is this big brother who takes him in his galleys and endangers the career and the life of Kid until an explosive end.
