In one of many early scenes of Me Time, the newest Netflix comedy, we see a dialog between a husband and spouse that tiptoes round an argument. Regina Corridor’s measured Maya is encouraging Kevin Hart’s uptight Sonny to loosen up a bit. Regardless of this, he’s fixated on his personal insecurities as a stay-at-home guardian and retains circling again to how he was uncomfortable with an interplay that occurred at a dinner they simply attended. At one level, Corridor utters a easy “what?” in response to the rambling bit Hart is trying to get out. This one phrase, with how genuinely perplexed it feels, finally ends up being infinitely funnier than the rest that takes place over practically two hours. Although Maya was responding to the convoluted manner that Sonny was trying to justify his controlling tendencies, she very properly might have been commenting on the baffling and unfunny movie itself.
The premise is an easy one, because it follows Sonny as he takes a number of days to himself whereas Maya takes their youngsters on a visit to go to household. It quickly turns into clear that he doesn’t actually have many mates or anybody to really join with throughout this free time. He initially simply will get caught up in embarrassing conditions surrounding masturbation, barbeque, and golf (an actual holy trinity of insecure masculinity). Finally, he decides to reconnect together with his outdated pal Huck (Mark Wahlberg), who’s throwing an costly birthday celebration for himself. It has been years since they’ve frolicked, one thing Sonny explains was intentional, as he felt he had outgrown their friendship. A gap flashback scene, through some moderately clunky results, provides a touch of what he means by this when the duo makes an attempt a stunt that goes awry. Nonetheless, regardless of his reservations, Sonny decides to lastly comply with Huck’s many pleas to hang around as they used to. They every don matching tracksuits and hit the highway on a cheesy social gathering bus.
The story then turns into about all of the shenanigans the 2 males will stand up to. There may be an assault by a mountain lion, a run-in with an imposing mortgage shark, recurring conditions involving poop, and an prolonged cameo look. It’s the whole lot you’ll anticipate from a extra mainstream comedy like this, all the way down to the overly sentimental closing act that drags on and on in an try and instill some form of lasting lesson. The unlucky factor is that the movie isn’t humorous and sometimes feels unsure about what it truly needs to be. The early scenes of slapstick, one thing that may be an artwork kind when performed properly, solely find yourself feeling hole and noncommittal. An try and pivot to be a extra wild journey falls flat as properly when the movie simply takes us proper again to the place we began with solely a handful of recurring gags that it cycles by means of. It’s all components and no enjoyable, placing us in state of affairs after state of affairs that it stretches to a breaking level within the hope of getting one thing going to justify a moderately prolonged runtime that feels even longer. You quickly notice this can be a movie of quickly diminishing comedic returns.
Me Time is written and directed by long-time comedy filmmaker John Hamburg (I Love You, Man) although it feels extra prefer it was designed by a committee moderately than an individual with a imaginative and prescient. Whereas Hamburg’s final movie Why Him? was not significantly profitable at what it got down to obtain, there was not less than a way that there was some form of driving pressure behind it. That’s fully absent right here. Me Time simply goes by means of the motions of a wacky comedy with none of the truly humorous parts. It appears like it’s holding itself again from making that crucial leap into absurdity as the whole lot performs out simply as you’ll anticipate. Above all else, a very good comedy requires some aspect of shock to it. Whereas there are a few moments of this, one involving a tortoise and the opposite a sudden automotive crash, they’re utterly buried underneath a number of set-up that every one ultimately arrive at comedic useless ends.
Oddly, among the funnier jokes and interactions come once we lower away from the primary duo to verify in with Maya off with the remainder of the household. A lot of this is because of Corridor, whose wit largely goes wasted past these quick sequences and her sense of comedic timing. On the opposite facet of this are Hart and Wahlberg, who lack the required chemistry to hold the remainder of the movie on their very own. Whereas the fabric itself wasn’t doing them any favors, the performances they provide each really feel one word and unimaginative. Even essentially the most simple of comedies may be elevated by the dedicated comedic presence of the actors on the core, although that’s by no means felt right here. As a substitute, we get scenes just like the aforementioned cameo the place there isn’t a joke for the individual showing to be part of aside from the randomness of them being there.
There are additionally repeated references to stand-up comedy as Sonny’s son shares how he enjoys watching everybody from Invoice Burr to Tiffany Haddish. Whereas it quickly turns into clear that that is to arrange how the younger child needs to take a unique path for an upcoming expertise present, the place he’s alleged to play piano that he hasn’t been practising, it simply served as a continuing reminder of how gentle on precise jokes the movie is. Whereas they’re vastly completely different types of comedy, the jokes from even essentially the most common stand-up particular far surpass something collaborating right here. Hart is a type of very performers and there are moments within the movie the place it virtually looks like he’s doing a bit simply as he would on stage. The problem is that it doesn’t ever join in the identical manner because it does when it’s simply him because the movie doesn’t have the endurance or route crucial to really construct on them. Every solely finally ends up feeling like little asides, as if Hart was simply riffing, they usually left it in there once they realized they didn’t have that a lot else happening in the best way of comedy. Maybe essentially the most sudden takeaway from all of it is that this makes Hart’s prior movie on the streamer from this 12 months, The Man from Toronto, look significantly better by comparability. Then once more, this isn’t a praise to both.
Ranking: D-
Me Time involves Netflix on August 26.
