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James Marsh

1/5 stars
The phenomenal rise of Kevin Hart, from stand-up comic to bona fide Hollywood star, has been aided by a number of savvy on-screen team-ups with established leading men.
Will Ferrell and Dwayne Johnson are just two box office heavyweights who have paired up with Hart to huge commercial success.
While his latest outing premieres on Netflix rather than in cinemas, Me Time continues this same strategy, as the diminutive funny man is partnered with the ever-popular Mark Wahlberg.


The duo play estranged childhood friends who are reunited for a hedonistic weekend of escalating mayhem, after Hart’s highly strung stay-at-home dad is given some time away from his career-driven wife, Maya (Regina Hall), and their two children.
What follows is a predictable parade of puerile buffoonery, akin to the frat-boy comedies of Todd Phillips (Old School, The Hangover). The loose, lazy scripting from writer-director John Hamburg too often relies on Hart and Wahlberg to keep the fun going, rather than generate genuine laughs from actual jokes.

Nudity, profanity and, in one case, gratuitous animal cruelty are presented as harmless boys’-own antics; the film suggests that any man, when left to his own devices, will spiral into unchecked debauchery.
That the antics in Me Time descend so quickly into lap dances and pool parties is a real shame, as Hart’s character, Sonny, raises some genuinely promising topics. He is the ultimate house-husband, who has put his own career aspirations on hold while his wife excels as a sought-after architect.
Sonny runs a tight ship at home, attends to the every need of his children, as well as being president of the parent-teacher association at their junior school, and director of the upcoming talent show.
He is also racked with insecurity, which turns to jealousy upon meeting Maya’s debonair star client (Luis Gerardo Méndez).
Wahlberg’s Huck is the antithesis of Sonny, a carefree bachelor whose life is seemingly one endless party, as he travels the world living to excess, surrounded by glamorous young bohemians.

Needless to say, once Sonny is sucked back into Huck’s orbit, for a wild birthday celebration in the desert, he soon discovers that his friend’s aspirational existence is anything but perfect.
Sadly, Me Time has zero interest in a legitimate examination of 21st century masculinity, nor is it particularly funny, content instead to coast along on its star power. The experience will have even Hart’s most devoted fans begging for some me time of their own.
Me Time is streaming on Netflix.
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Netflix movie review: Me Time – Kevin Hart, Mark Wahlberg lose themselves in frat-boy comedy with exceptionally lazy scripting

Mark Wahlberg (left) as Huck and Kevin Hart as Sonny in a still from Me Time. Photo: Saeed Adyani/Netflix

Kevin Hart (left) as Sonny and Mark Wahlberg as Huck in a still from Me Time. Photo: Saeed Adyani/Netflix

Regina Hall (left) as Maya and Amentii Sledge as Ava in a still from Me Time. Photo: Saeed Adyani/Netflix

Kevin Hart (left) as Sonny and Mark Wahlberg as Huck in a still from Me Time. Photo: Saeed Adyani/Netflix.

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Two childhood friends – a stay-at-home dad and a carefree bachelor – reunite for a weekend of debauchery ending in a birthday celebration in the desert
Kevin Hart and Mark Wahlberg bring the star power to this dull film, but their names aren’t big enough to carry it


This Netflix comedy banks on Kevin Hart and Mark Wahlberg’s big-name status to carry it, but falls into puerile buffoonery with very little in the way of scripting to help it.


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An assessment or critique of a service, product or creative endeavour.  Film reviews, restaurant reviews, reviews of art exhibitions. (Eg. Crazy Rich Asians: an important film, yes, but a good one?)


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