Review: 'Upside' improves upon original

"The Upside" is based on a French film called "Intouchables" (2011) about the real life story of a very rich quadriplegic who develops an unlikely friendship with the young, irreverent ex-con who he hires to take care of him. It became the second-biggest box office success in French history and made $300 million in Europe, but when it finally got released in the United States, riding a wave of advance publicity, the movie's success seemed baffling. It was OK. That's all.

"The Upside" is better. Screenwriter Jon Hartmere takes the original script and Americanizes it in two ways. First, he moves the action from Paris to New York City.