Me Time Movie review (2022)
At the very least, you have to give it to Kevin Hart for keeping the middle-brow, upper-middle-budget studio comedy going on his terms. Following the torturous “The Man From Toronto,” Hart stars in another Netflix bromance caper, “Me Time,” alongside Mark Wahlberg. Consider it a grown-up version of “Risky Business,” in which a respectable Mr. Mom-type earns an unaccompanied week at home. after a longtime stay-at-home dad to support his successful wife’s career.
Insert as many booze, poop, and masturbation jokes as you like. In “Me Time,” they arrive in droves—predictably, a few land,s and the rest don’t. Still, there’s something endearing at the heart of this farce from writer/director John Hamburg, who also wrote “Zoolander,” “Meet the Parents,” “Along Came Polly,” and “I Love You, Man.” Search this sometimes clunky, sometimes over-plotted story for worthwhile pursuits. A goodhearted portrait of a heterosexual marriage in which the woman is the breadwinner, and a few genuinely funny and unexpected moments almost make up for the painfully clumsy special effects are among them.
Sonny, the aforementioned Mr. Mom, is played by Hart. Our first encounter with him is in his twenties, on an extravagant and adventurous birthday trip for Huck, who lives for danger and routinely spends beyond his means. We understand that the risk-taker Huck tests the limits of the safety-conscious, relatively square Sonny and in a great way, if their skydiving experience that revitalizes the initially reluctant Sonny is any indication. But then we cut to years later, when Sonny has lost touch with Huck after a series of quests together. He’s now a responsible adult, living with his distinguished architect wife Maya (Regina Hall) and two children for whom he is the primary caregiver.
“Me Time” deserves credit for not portraying Sonny as a “stuck and miserable” guy—the man genuinely enjoys preparing elaborate meals, eagerly presiding the PTA at his children’s school, and being an all-around great father, whereas Maya occasionally struggles to remember her children’s tastes and medical needs. Make no mistake: “Me Time” never demonizes Maya as a stereotypical “cold evil career woman.” This is a film that accepts and understands, on a surprisingly efficient level, that it’s socially acceptable for a successful working man to neglect certain parental duties guilt-free, it should absolutely be the same for a woman.
Even so, the overworked and burdened Maya is self-conscious about the time she spends away from her family, especially as she approaches a major deal with the eccentric, tortoise-loving eco-billionaire Armando (Luis Gerardo Méndez) and the prospect of launching her own company. So Maya takes her children to a country retreat, persuading Sonny to take advantage of a free week and possibly reconnect with Huck. They have no idea that, despite having another lavish birthday party planned, Huck is now unemployed and owes a large sum of money to the murderous loan shark Stan (Jimmy O. Yang).
Armando adds a few winsome laughs straight from the Hamburg playbook, reminiscent of Hank Azaria’s scuba instructor in “Along Came Polly.” And he owns the role of the whimsically handsome and hysterically eccentric rich guy who makes Sonny jealous. How could he not be there when Maya and Armando binge-watch “Bridgerton” on long flights and send romantic gifs from the show to each other? Meanwhile, Huck and Sonny’s action-packed adventures range from amusing to cringe (featuring particularly bad CGI of a mountain lion), with the most inspired of them including the fearlessly deadpan Uber driver Thelma (a terrific Ilia Isorels Paulino) who assists the duo in sabotaging Armando’s Topanga Canyon estate through an entertaining sequence.
“Me Time” has some structural issues that slow the story down, such as taking much longer to reintroduce Huck in the second act and littering the overall canvas with too many side characters. However, it comes with enough rewards thanks to an eccentric group of lovable people who only need to go a little crazy in order to survive as their true selves.
Movie Name: Me Time 2022
Genre: Comedy
Run time: 1h 41min
Release date: 26th August 2022
Stream on: Netflix
