Or maybe you will be tickled by one of the hundreds of rape jokes that seem to be the movie’s main source of inspiration. I kind of hope not. There are no taboos in comedy, of course, but even among comedians there’s some reluctance to mine sexual assault for easy laughs. The exception seems to be when men in prison are involved, but why should that be the case? (No need to answer.)

Anyway: Mr. Ferrell’s character, a superrich financier named James, faces 10 years in the penitentiary after being convicted of fraud and embezzlement, and he’s terrified of sexual assault. He hires Darnell, the upwardly striving carwash owner played by Mr. Hart, to teach him how to protect himself. Why? Because James assumes that, as a black man, Darnell must know all about prison. Let us pause here to marvel at the challenge the filmmakers have set for themselves, which is to say at the many different ways this conceit isn’t funny. It’s hard to know where to begin.

Image The rapper turned actor T.I. makes an impression. Credit... Warner Bros. Pictures

The highest praise I can give “Get Hard” is that it is not quite as awful as it could have been. Mr. Hart, as usual, is jumpy and silly, maniacally mugging his way through every scene. Mr. Ferrell, as usual, is lumbering and silly, using his big body and his adaptable voice to explore new varieties of embarrassment. Neither is exactly bad, though both have been better doing other things.