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Ed Symkus: Between the Rock and a Hart place

The basic premise of "Central Intelligence," the action-comedy starring Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart, is role reversal. In the introductory flashback, geeky high school senior Bob is bullied by nasty classmates, while another senior, little Calvin, who comes to Bob's rescue, is the most popular kid in school. But as adults, Calvin (Hart) has grown up to be an unsatisfied man stuck in a mundane job, while Bob has become a tough, dashing CIA agent. On top of that, Kevin Hart, one of the world's most successful standup comics, plays the straight man in the film, and Johnson, a superstar on the action film circuit plays the comedy relief. They got together to talk about the messages of the film in New York.

Q: Were you guys anything like the characters you play when you were in high school?

Hart: My high school years were great. I was a popular kid, and a really cool guy (laughs). Not the best student, but I was a people person. I got along with any and everybody, from the athletes to the non-athletes, from the people who were all about education to the people who hookied. To get embraced by everyone was a good feeling, and it kept me out of trouble. I didn't get in fights. The funny guy doesn't fight; the funny guy stops the fights, and makes people feel stupid about wanting to fight.

Johnson: I had been arrested multiple times by the time I was 16. So I had a little harder time trying to adjust, and during my freshman and sophomore years in high school I spent a lot of time trying to get back on the right track. It wasn't until I got involved in sports that I had a focus and a reason to do the things I was doing.

Q: Do you look back on those days as a defining time for you?

Johnson: Sure. You're coming into your adolescence, and without over-intellectualizing about it, that's really where you start to be defined, where you start to understand yourself and who you are, and hopefully, accept yourself.

Hart: It's weird. In high school, there are people you look at who are so amazing. Everything seems to be so right, so perfect for them. They've got the world in the palm of their hands. But when you meet those people again, as adults, I find out that what's going on with our characters (in the movie) is a real situation. They may not be as happy as they felt they should be because they didn't get the success they felt they were going to get in the years after high school. They don't know how to cope or find the balance. Yet the guy that wasn't necessarily a popular kid finds success in such an amazing way, and his life turns around. The overall message in this film is regardless of where you are or who you are, be happy with that person in that position. Because there's happiness in everything. And that's what these two characters have to realize and find within themselves.

Q: Were you bullied in school?

Hart: I believe in the whole anti-bullying thing. But as a kid I think you need a little bit of drama. I don't like people who are trying to make these kids perfect. You need to go through something; you need to build character. Within situations that make you uncomfortable come life lessons. I've got two kids. I'm hoping my son gets into some stuff at a young age so he can come and talk to me about it. And I'll say, "Hey, man, figure it out! You're gonna have to figure it out when you're on your own!" I don't want to shelter my kids. I just try to make sure that they understand their self-worth and their value.

Johnson: I had a little incident with a kid who was bullying me all summer at camp. But I stood up for myself, and I hit that kid hard, and then I ran so fast. But it was a good life lesson for me. I was 11 years old and he was in high school. I jacked him in his face, then ran all the way home. I ran out of my shoes and ran home. My mom said, "What's going on? Where's your shoes?" I said I ran and I left them. And she said, "You ran?" So it wasn't even about the shoes. She made me get in the car with her, drove me back to summer camp, then made me go find him and work it out with him. The moral of the story, like Kevin said, was you're going to get in this kind of situation, but don't you ever run from it. My mom said, "Stand up for yourself! Communicate!"

"Central Intelligence" opens on June 17.

— Ed Symkus covers movies for More Content Now.