There is a movie that dropped on Netflix in August called, Me Time. It stars Kevin Hart and Mark Wahlberg, and while I had hoped it might be promising, the movie, unfortunately, severely failed to please. The last few films that Kevin Hart did (The Man From Toronto, Fatherhood, and Jumanji), were all very enjoyable, to say the least. Each film was well scripted, had notable acting, and solid direction. But, Me Time, I mean, the best thing I can say about the film is that it made me want to see Kevin Hart and Mark Wahlberg make any other film together that didn't just suck so, so badly.
Mark Wahlberg is an interesting actor. In a sense, he plays the same character in a number of his films and, even with how different the script of each movie is from his last, he's a risk taker, which more often than not works out really well for him. Wahlberg has excellent timing, unless otherwise directed—such as in the movie The Happening—and both comedic and dramatic delivery, and I can’t think of too many, if any of his movies that I didn’t enjoy. On a personal note, If you haven’t seen Rockstar, you should see Rockstar, it might be my favorite Mark Wahlberg film. Wahlberg’s comedies, especially when paired with someone he has real chemistry with, an actor that he can have a good back-and-forth with (Hart is equally great at that), are really fun to watch.
Kevin Hart is a very different kind of person than Mark Wahlberg, although he, too, plays similar characters in each movie, most of which translate well from one movie to the next. The two actors seem to have fundamentally similar acting styles that, but because of the difference in their personalities, they come across a little different on screen. I think Kevin Hart’s great, he’s a comedic genius, and his timing, like Wahlberg, is spot on. So, of course, when I learned that they were doing a movie together, I was looking forward to that release date.
Unfortunately, if you haven't already surmised, I was really disappointed with Me Time. When I’m watching a movie, and it occurs to me that the movie is just too awful to watch, instead of turning the movie off and moving on with my life, I'll sit there and explore the reasons why. I will research the film and the making of the film, hoping to find some explanation. It was during this research I learned that John Hamburg is one of the worst, and overrated living directors of ours or any generation. John Hamburg is an awful film director. Hamburg directed Me Time; he directed Why Him?, Little Fockers, and I Love You, Man! And every one of these movies I thought had missed the mark, although, in at least one case, only just missed the mark. The previews for each film did intrigue me enough to sit through them. I thought Bryan Cranston and James Franco would have excellent chemistry in Why Him? especially in the context of father and would-be son-in-law, and they they two actors could very well have, if anyone else had directed it. I Love You, Man! was well received, but as good as the story and the script actually were, the film, again, could have been so much better. Instead, it was my least favorite Paul Rudd film. Everything that Hamburg has done, had the potential to be much better, and probably would have been if Shawn Levy or David Dobkin had directed it (they each make similar movies). At the very least, Me Time was a phenomenal success exposing John Hamburg as a fraud.
I very much hope that Kevin Hart and Mark Wahlberg work together again in the future, and under the direction of someone who knows what they’re doing. I think Hart and Wahlberg could have a chemistry that rivals that of Kevin Hart and Dwayne Johnson or Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson, in these comedic roles. I can't imagine that I'll sit through another John Hamburg film, only because it will frustrate me knowing that it could have been a really great film. I would suggest that John Hamburg sticks to writing, and to leave the direction to more capable storytellers.