Teddy Walker (Kevin Hart) is like the mayor of his high school—when he walks down the hallways, heads turn, and he receive high-fives and nods from his classmates. Teddy is a star athlete, and popular with the girls. He has never been very good at taking tests, but has the gift of gab, always able to sweet talk his teachers into altering his grades. However, when it comes time to take the standardized achievement test, Teddy has met his match—there is no way to use his charm to change his grade on a computerized test. So Teddy drops out and finds a job at Joe’s BBQ City, where he utilizes his skills to sell premium patio furniture to folks who don’t even need it.

For the next 17 years, Teddy excels, constantly earning employee of the month. The owner of the company even promises to let Teddy run the business when he retires. Teddy’s personal life is also going great—he has been dating a girl way out of his league, Lisa (Megalyn Echikunwoke, The Following), and she has accepted his marriage proposal. Teddy has been living a lifestyle way beyond his means in order to impress Lisa. When an unfortunate accident causes BBQ City to shut down, Teddy is desperate to find a new job before Lisa discovers the truth. However, Teddy is now faced with the harsh reality of trying to find a job without a high school diploma. His best friend Marvin (Ben Schwartz, Parks and Recreation) offers him a job at his financial firm as long as Teddy can get his GED. In the meantime, Teddy begrudgingly finds work at a Christian-themed fried chicken restaurant across from a strip club.

Teddy thinks it’s going to be simple to get his GED—he plans to use his fast-talking skills to get the school administrator to simply sign off on the paperwork. However, he discovers that the new principal at his old high school is Stewart (Taran Killam, Single Parents, Angie Tribeca), a former classmate that he used to make fun of. Stewart is delighted at this opportunity to get a little payback. And so Teddy is forced to attend night school in order to earn his GED. Teaching the class is the over-worked, but caring Carrie (Tiffany Haddish), who quickly catches on to Teddy’s B.S. and attempts to bribe her into making things easy for him—that’s never going to happen! The rest of the class is comprised of misfits from various walks of life. Jaylen (Romany Malco, A Million Little Things) had been working at a bottling plant for the past 14 years, until his job was replaced by a robot. He hates technology, and is paranoid about the inevitable robot uprising. Theresa (Mary Lynn Rajskub, 24) was forced to drop out of high school when she got pregnant with her first child. Now she has three children and an unappreciative husband. Mila (Anne Winters) is a spoiled rich girl who was kicked out of her high school for doing drugs, and is now attending night school in order to avoid going to juvie. Luis (Al Madrigal, I’m Dying Up Here) recently lost his job as waiter at a Cheesecake Factory thanks to Teddy’s scam to get a free meal. He now needs his diploma in order to become a dental hygienist. Mackenzie (Rob Riggle), aka Big Mac, wants to movie into a management position at his moving company and needs his degree to do so. He also made a deal with his high school dropout son that they would both get their diplomas together. And finally, there’s Bobby (Fat Joe), who joins the class via Skype from prison.

Teddy is used to things coming easily for him, and being able to talk his way out of any situation. Now he’s forced to put in the work and earn degree, all in order to keep the love of his life from realizing the truth and leaving him. Meanwhile, the principal, whom he used to bully, is trying to throw a wrench in these plans. He’s also got to win over his classmates and teachers, who don’t get a great first impression.

I really enjoyed Night School. It has a lot of laugh-out-loud moments due to clever writing, great physical humor, and lots of improv from the talented comedic cast. This movie also has a lot of heart (or is that Hart?!). Teddy could have been this unlikable con man, but Kevin Hart makes you care about this character. Even though Teddy is lying to his fiancee, he is ultimately doing everything for the girl he loves. Tiffany Haddish’s Carrie is much more grounded and subdued than her Dina from Girl’s Trip. Carrie is a dedicated teacher who really cares about her students, and is the only person who will talk back to Principal Stewart. However, Carrie does have her fun, wilder moments, such as when she tries an unconventional teaching method to get through to Teddy. Taran Killam is hilarious as Stewart. Stewart has definitely seen Lean on Me a few too many times, and has There is this funny recurring bit where Stewart uses a “Black” accent when trying to intimidate others, but he denies it when he is called out on it. The night school classmates are also a lot of fun and have great chemistry with one another—from the tech-paranoid Jaylen who thinks he’s cool, to the heavily-accented Luis with his dreams of being a dental hy-en-ist, to the harried Theresa who is always insisting she is “blessed” to have so many children, and the dimwitted Big Mac, who just wants to be Teddy’s friend. There were several times the film surprised me, veering from the traditional formula for films like this. It went in some unexpected directions that I really appreciated.

Universal’s release includes both the original theatrical cut of the film as well as an extended cut that runs about 5 minutes longer. For the review, I watched the extended cut. The changes mostly involve language and footage that was originally altered in order to get the theatrical PG-13 rating. This includes things like additional close-up footage of the pubic hairs Teddy places on his food to get out of paying for a meal, and a sex toy that was graphically altered for the theatrical version. Some of the original, more graphic dialogue that was dubbed over to avoid an R rating is also restored.

Universal’s 4K Ultra HD release looks and sounds excellent. The picture looks pristine, with beautiful bright colors and clean, detailed picture. The soundtrack provides clear dialogue, the bass kicks in during the booming soundtrack of Teddy’s high school flashbacks, and the stereo and surround channels are also utilized to add ambiance and bring scenes to life—such as when Teddy is trying to take his test and the problems on his test book come to life, whirring around him causing lots of confusion.

The 4K Ultra HD release comes packed in standard UHD keepcase with a slipcover, and contains an insert with a code to redeem for a 4K Movies Anywhere digital copy of the unrated cut of film. The 4K disc on contains a commentary track and a 5 minute gag reel, but the Blu-ray disc includes a solid assortment of bonus features—the audio commentary, a longer gag reel, deleted/alternate scenes, and over 30 minutes of behind-the-scenes featurettes.

What’s Included:

Film: (Theatrical: 1:51:16, Extended: 1:56:01)

4K Ultra HD:
• 2160p / Widescreen 2.39:1
• Dolby Vision and HDR10
• Audio: English DTS:X, Spanish DTS Digital Surround 5.1, French DTS-HD High Resolution Audio 7.1
• Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French

Blu-ray:

• 1080p / Widescreen 2.39:1
• Audio: English DTS:X, English Descriptive Video Service (Theatrical Cut only), Spanish DTS Digital Surround 5.1, French DTS-HD High Resolution Audio 7.1
• Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French

Digital (for redemption deadline, see NBCUcodes.com):

• 4K Digital copy redeemable via Movies Anywhere (Extended Edition)

Extras:

All bonus material is located on the Blu-ray disc. The commentary can also be found on the UHD disc, along with an “Extra Credit” version of the gag reel.

• Gag Reel Extra Credit* (5:17)
  Only on the Ultra HD disc, this is a shorted version of the gag reel from the Blu-ray disc with added pop-up text, emojis and graphics.
• Alternate Opening (6:29)
  In this alternate opening scene, Teddy uses his fast-talking skills to con a teacher to adjust his failing test grade. Then Teddy and Stewart have a confrontation by the lockers (parts of this birthmark scene were used later in the film). In the optional commentary, director Malcolm D. Lee explains why the extremely long scene was ultimately cut.
• Deleted Scenes (13:27)
  Collection of six deleted scenes with optional commentary by director Malcolm D. Lee. Play All, or select from:
  • Pluck Brow (1:09)
    The aftermath of the explosion.
  • Brick Wall (2:56)
    Teddy tells Marvin that night school isn’t going to be as easy as he thought, and that he’s in over his head financially.
  • Border Crossing (2:55)
    Luis hands his demo tape out to his classmates.
  • Macs Wrestling (1:13)
    Big Mac wrestles with his son Little Mac after discovering him using his cell phone instead of studying.
  • The Truth (3:33)
    Teddy meets Luis’ family and learns the truth about their “struggle” to come to America. Easily my favorite of the scenes.
  • Flash Cards (1:47)
    Big Mac and Little Mac studying with flash cards.
• Gag Reel (11:04)
  A pretty straightforward gag reel filed with flubbed lines, alternate takes, laughing, and fun on-set antics. Some of this is repetitive from the Extra Credit version on the UHD disc, but without the pop-up emojis and text.
• Night School’s In Session! (13:33)
  The cast and filmmakers talk about each of the various characters and cast members. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with director/executive producer Malcolm D. Lee, producer Will Packer, and stars Tiffany Haddish (“Carrie”), Kevin Hart (“Teddy”/producer), Romany Malco (“Jaylen”), Al Madrigal (“Luis”), Mary Lynn Rajskub (“Theresa”), Taran Killam (“Stewart”), Rob Riggle (“Mackenzie”) and Anne Winters (“Mila”). Play All, or select from:
  • Roll Call — Teddy (2:09)
  • Roll Call — Carrie (1:37)
  • Roll Call — Big Mac (1:55)
  • Roll Call — Jaylen (1:34)
  • Roll Call — Luis (1:13)
  • Roll Call — Mila (1:59)
  • Roll Call — Theresa (1:27)
  • Roll Call — Stewart (1:48)
• Who’s the Student? Who’s the Teacher? (2:33)
  A look at the comedy duo of Kevin Hart and Tiffany Haddish. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with director/executive producer Malcolm D. Lee, producer Will Packer, and stars Tiffany Haddish and Kevin Hart.
• Prom Night Revisited (3:07)
  The cast and filmmakers share pictures and stories from their own prom experiences. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with director/executive producer Malcolm D. Lee, producer Will Packer, and stars Kevin Hart, Tiffany Haddish, Taran Killam, Rob Riggle, Romany Malco, and Megalyn Echikunwoke (“Lisa”), Yvonne Orji (“Maya”), and Mary Lynn Rajskub.
• Cap ‘n Gown ‘n Giggles (2:08)
  Behind-the-scenes at the graduation. Includes interviews with producer Will Packer, and stars Mary Lynn Rajskub, Fat Joe (“Bobby”), Rob Riggle, Romany Malco, and Ben Schwartz (“Marvin”).
• Making of the Dance Battle (3:45)
  A behind-the-scenes look at training for and filming the big prom night dance battle. Includes interviews with choreographer Eboni Nichols, director/executive producer Malcolm D. Lee, producer Will Packer, and stars Kevin Hart and Tiffany Haddish.
• Christian Chicken (:40)
  Teddy stars in this commercial for Christian Chicken.
• Game Over (1:46)
  A look at Lisa’s best friend Maya and how she sees through Teddy’s antics. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with star Yvonne Orji, Kevin Hart, and Megalyn Echikunwoke.
• Extended Performance “El Sueno” (2:40)
  Extended version of Luis’s prom night performance of his original song, “El Sueno”. This version include a rap verse by Jaylen
• Feature Commentary with Director Malcolm D. Lee* (1:51:16)
  Director Malcolm D. Lee provides an audio commentary over the theatrical cut of the film. Some of the things he talks about include casting the film, the use of improv, the alterations that had to be made in order to get a PG-13 rating from the MPAA, and adding some wilder stuff for Tiffany Haddish so that fans of her wilder Dina character from Girl’s Trip wouldn’t be disappointed. While the commentary is entertaining and informative, the director does a little too much complaining about things like marketing ruining some of the surprises, and self-denigration about poor editing and other choices.

Final Thoughts:

Night School is a really fun comedy with a lot of heart, filled with likable characters that you care about and root for. The extremely talented cast had me laughing out loud throughout the film—not only are the leads hilarious, but the supporting characters are also a lot of fun, and even have some of the best lines. Universal’s 4K Ultra HD looks and sounds great, and includes a solid selection of bonus material. Fans of the film won’t be disappointed. The discs offer two versions of the film, as well as a 4K digital copy of the unrated cut. This release comes highly recommended for those looking for some laughs.