It’s been a hot minute since I’ve been here, with over a month since my last review. It wasn’t necessarily an intentional choice. I just had a lot of stuff going on. Family vacation, moving and getting set up in the new place, friend’s bachelor party, another friend’s wedding, lots of fun stuff taking up lots of time. But it’s all been good. Without obsessively watching movies every single night, I have more balance in my life, which has been for the better. But here’s the funny thing. Regardless of whatever movie ended up being my “grand return” I was going to open with something like this. It may have related to the movie 0.0%, but that was the plan. However, there actually were some significant parallels drawn between my last month or so and Me Time, the new Kevin Hart-Mark Wahlberg buddy comedy from Netflix.
Kevin Hart plays stay-at-home dad Sonny Fisher, married to architect Maya (Regina King). He runs the house, volunteers at his kids’ school, he does it all. But it comes at a cost. He has no real life outside of his family (there’s that balance we were talking about). He has “parent friends”, but nobody that he can really call a true friend. Not even his lifelong best friend, Huck (Mark Wahlberg). The two have been best friends forever, but Huck’s wild, hard-partying, adventurous lifestyle doesn’t jive with Sonny’s grounded family life. But when the Fisher’s spring break trip coincides with Huck’s 44th birthday party, it presents an opportunity for both Sonny and Maya.
Maya has been feeling disconnected from their two kids, and Sonny needs some “me time.” Maya takes the kids to her parents house, allowing Sonny to go to Huck’s party and reconnect with his friend – and his former self.
Hijinks ensue, things go wrong, the usual stuff. There’s nothing here you haven’t seen a thousand times before. But you know what? It works. Well, it kind of works. Kevin Hart pretty much is what he is as an actor. When he gets the right role, he can find a real comedic groove. And Sonny is just about the perfect character type for Hart to play. Hart’s manic energy and excitable reactions pair nicely with the the over-the-top situations he and Huck ultimately find themselves in.
Wahlberg is in fine form here as well. While he does have one Academy Award acting nomination (for The Departed), he often gets dinged – especially lately – for his perceived limited acting skills. I think that’s more a case of picking bad projects than being a bad or average actor. He’s not one of the best, by any means, but he’s serviceable. And like Hart, when he finds the right role, he can shine. And again like Hart, Huck is a good character to match Wahlberg’s comedic talents.
What really makes it all work though is Hart and Wahlberg together. They have good chemistry and play off each other pretty well for the most part. As a wacky buddy comedy, this part is critical. You can feel the years of history between them, that at one they were as close as the movie claims them to be. But you can also feel the tension that comes with former best friends reconnecting after going down vastly divergent paths.
Me Time is the rare Netflix comedy that actually has something to say. Most of it goes back to balance. You can’t only devote yourself to one thing, be it your job, your bachelor lifestyle, even your family. Don’t get me wrong, as a spouse and parent, family is and should be your number one, two, and three priorities. But to be the best partner and parent, you need to be well-rounded. You have to find a way to be your full self. And for some people, I’m sure being the devoted stay-at-home spouse like Sonny starts off as is their fullest, most complete self. But for those for whom that’s not the case, you’re doing yourself and your family a disservice by keeping it that way. That’s what Sonny has to learn.
The same applies to us single folks too. You might think your whole life is “me time” but you have to balance that with “we time” with friends and family. Do what you want. Focus on your job, side hustles, hobbies, whatever else you have going on. But not at the expense of growing and strengthening your relationships and connections.
Me Time doesn’t delve too far into these deeper themes, but the fact that it got across so much anyway is an impressive feat. But it’s not enough to fully make up for its shortcomings.
First off, Regina Hall gets next to nothing to do. She’s a legit comedic force, and she’s given basically no jokes. You see Regina Hall cast in a comedy, and you reasonably expect her to provide some of the bigger laughs in the movie. But nope. Massive disappointment.
But the biggest issue is the story. It tries to do too much. Let Sonny and Huck have their misadventures on the birthday party excursion. There are enough possibilities to mine great material out of that premise by itself. But Me Time tries to force in other side plots just to create drama. And those moments feel forced. Sure, you get some good laughs. Sonny and Huck’s Uber driver, for example, manages to steal a couple scenes. But as part of the larger story, it doesn’t feel like a single, cohesive plot.
Me Time had some potential to be one of the better comedies on the year, and there are flashes of it. The messaging also helps elevate it above many recent comedies we’ve seen. But the unfocused plot cuts that potential down every time before it really gets the chance to build some serious momentum. It’s fine, which honestly is better than I expected. I wish it had delivered on its promising set up, but given what Netflix movies have become, I’ll take “fine” on this one and hope it’s a sign of better things to come.
Score: 71/100
