That’s the face of a man who gets nominated for an Oscar, loses, and then finds himself confined to a wheelchair, mugging and getting his ears rubbed opposite Kevin Hart.
The Weinsteins have been looking to remake their 2011 French-language hit, THE INTOUCHABLES, for some time now, and according to Deadline, Cranston and Hart are the current guys in talks to take over the roles played by Francois Cluzet and Omar Sy, respectively. They’re still going with a draft that Paul Feig wrote back in the BRIDESMAIDS days, but who apparently moved on when he swore allegiance to Ms. McCarthy in all her comedic glory.
If you haven’t seen Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano’s original film, it’s about a rich, paralyzed Parisian who becomes quite close with his caretaker, who eventually inspires him to live a far cheerier life than he was doomed to when he was just sulking alone in his big house. It's a cute, likable picture, one that won over international audiences to the tune of $425 million-plus, was nominated for a bunch of Cesars, and launched the career of Sy, who's gone on to stuff like DAYS OF FUTURE PAST and JURASSIC WORLD.
Sy’s take on the character is charismatic and energetic as all hell, but not straight comedic like Hart’s role’s usually are, so I’d imagine there’s going to be some retooling here in terms of tone and ambition. Provided the pair signs, the studio’s going to be selling the power team of Cranston and Hart to get this thing off the ground, and their chemistry is going to make or break this thing. Hart’s done a respectable job of sharing the screen with fellow leading men (even though no one would argue an accusation that he showboats shamelessly), and Cranston, who has only really headlined one movie since BREAKING BAD (and got an Oscar nom for it), is as talented and beloved an actor as you can get right now. If the combo works, and they don’t veer too far into goofball comedic territory regarding the gnarly particulars of taking care of a physically-handicapped person (the “poo-poo pants” Charlie Sheen has referred to come to mind), they could have something that wins both audiences and critics over to the degree of the original film.
Just…don’t let Hart talk too much in any given take, alright? That guy’ll just keep going, and going, and going, and while you’re trying to figure out if he’s actually saying anything (let alone anything funny), RIDE ALONG 1 & 2, GET HARD, WEDDING RINGER, and the THINK LIKE A MANs are killing it at the box-office *sigh* but I digress…
