Me Time is getting bad reviews; that seems to be a given. The Netflix comedy falls prey to the same rhythms and tropes critics have seen thousands of times, and is not crafted with any major distinction. However, it's in these moments that one should turn to a legend in the field of popular criticism, Roger Ebert, who said:

I sometimes find myself the advocate of what might be called a generic theory of film criticism. That’s to say I think movies should be judged, in part, in terms of the expectations we have for them [...] most of the time, when we go to the movies, we go seeking more modest rewards: A decent spy picture, for example, or a passable musical.

The point is this: a critic is tasked with watching a film, while an audience member chooses to. Most critics wouldn't willingly choose to watch a Kevin Hart movie, hence the bad reviews; a viewer who would gladly watch one of his movies, however, will very likely enjoy Me Time. Interestingly enough, Hart meets the expectations of both.

Me Time is About Parenting (and Needing It)

Kevin Hart smiles in the Netflix movie Me Time
Netflix

Me Time stars Hart as Sonny Fisher, a father who puts the 'pro' in professional stay-at-home dad. A top gun helicopter parent, Sonny begins his day making his children breakfast before taking them to school, where he assists with plays and the talent show, leads the PTA, and volunteers his life away at the school before bringing his kids home to oversee their hobbies and homework. He's a loving and caring father, but essentially co-dependent.

His wife Maya (an underused Regina Hall, so brilliantly hilarious in the upcoming Honk For Jesus movie) occupies an opposite space. An up-and-coming architect with a fawning boss, Maya is the proverbial bread-winner, but is toast when it comes to her kids, too busy to be sure about which language they've been studying for six months (it's Mandarin). As the parents realize the exaggerated holes they've dug themselves into, Maya decided to take the kids for spring break on her own, leaving Sonny to have some 'me time' for a week.

Kevin Hart and Mark Wahlberg break into a house in the Netflix movie Me Time
Netflix

Sonny reunites with his former best friend, the aptly named Huck Dembo (a goofy Mark Wahlberg), a beefcake with no common sense and an existential fear of aging. Huck celebrates his birthday each year as if it was a Kanye West album release party; Sonny meets up with him near a party bus with Huck's body painted across it.

He takes Sonny and a bunch of much younger people with him into the desert to 'go primal,' and he spares no expense, though he obviously should have. Not only is a raw oyster bar weird in the desert, but Huck has been spending money he doesn't have, putting himself $50 thousand in debt to Stan (Jimmy O. Yang, arguably the funniest part of the film) and his Israeli bodyguard. As the night progresses, Sonny and Huck will get a lot more childish than this father-of-the-year is used to.

Kevin Hart Continues His Image Makeover

A naked Mark Wahlberg hugs Kevin Hart from behind in the Netflix movie Me Time
Netflix

Meanwhile, Maya's career chases after her while she's trying to get quality time with the kids, jeopardizing this break in the parental status quo. The kind of quasi-progressive living situation between Sonny and Maya (in which the husband is the lunch-packing, PTA-hosting parent and the wife is the career-building success) seems to be a part of Hart's image makeover, which has been going on ever since 2017.

Hart, an energetic stand-up comedian and actor with strong delivery, experienced a couple of terrible years — he suffered a horrendous car accident; TMZ released a sex tape of him cheating on his wife, and the woman involved sued him for $60 million; and of course, he was canceled on by the Academy Awards.

Related: Watch Kevin Hart and Mark Wahlberg Share a Wild Weekend in the First Trailer for Me Time

After Hart was accused of homophobia and transphobia (and instead of just seeking some 'me time'), his agents chased down the film Fatherhood, which replaced Channing Tatum with Hart as a father trying to understand and care for his gender non-conforming daughter. This followed an earlier softer role for Hart with The Upside, in which he essentially cheered up Bryan Cranston for two hours. Hart made the kids' movie DC's League of Super-Pets, and now he's here, basically playing super-dad.

The film seems awkwardly progressive in places, as if Hart's affirming makeover infiltrated the script. More than just having obligatory, check-boxing gay and lesbian friends, there's a scene in which his daughter asks him, "Do I have a penis?" To which Sonny responds along the lines of, "No, you don't. In life, if you chose, or at some point you wanted one, you can get it." These moments feel like stilted, focus-group-tested requirements as part of Hart's softer image, rather than genuine comedic elements.

The Funny Moments of Me Time

Me Time cast including Andrew Santino and Kevin Hart
Netflix

However, there is funny to be found in Me Time, arguably more so than Hart's other recent Netflix original movies, Fatherhood and The Man From Toronto. Whatever Hart may have said or done in the past doesn't negate the fact that he has a singular comic energy and is just downright great at slapstick comedy. Whether it's his signature yelp, small stature, elastic facial expressions, or sheer athleticism, Hart is a modern king of the pratfall, possibly bested only by Melissa McCarthy. As a result, the physical humor in Me Time is often very funny, and no matter how stupid it might get, meets the practically algorithmic requirements for 'a Kevin Hart genre comedy.'

Related: Exclusive: Andrew Santino Delivers Hilarious Interview for Me Time, Jokes ‘Netflix Can’t Stop Me’

The supporting cast does a lot of heavy lifting as well. Regina Hall is an extremely underrated comedic presence, and while she's given little to work with in Me Time, she manages to do lots with little. The aforementioned Yang is golden as the Hongkongese American Jewish convert, dressed in full prep regalia and extremely tactful when preparing to enact mafia violence. Yes, like many things in Me Time, his character seems lifted in from a better movie (in this case, Ken Jeong's drug lord in The Hangover films), but he's just perfect in the part and, after Space Force and Love Hard, is a talent to watch.

Andrew Santino in Me Time on Netflix
Netflix

Andrew Santino is also a comic gem throughout much of the film, the kind of trash-talking dad who sneaks out to party but shuts up when his wife is around. Wahlberg turns on his puppy dog charm here as a big doofus who hasn't learned how to grow up, and whose immaturity is catching up with him. He's actually a rather tragic character, a man in desperate need of some parenting of his own, and could've actually carried a darker, sadder comedy centered on him.

Instead, Me Time is a typically polished and efficient Netflix film, a treat for Hart fans or people seeking a light snack. Writer/director John Hamburg (writer of Meet the Parents, director of Along Came Polly) is as quick-moving and smooth as always, breezing through a runtime that should probably feel longer, given the scarcity of actual plot material. Unfortunately, he steers the film into an overly emotional, senselessly sentimental finale that's a little too ridiculous to actually be sweet or heartwarming.

Me Time Meets Expectations For Better or Worse

Again, Me Time is for any viewer whose interest may be piqued by the idea of a Kevin Hart movie. If these viewers' expectations are an extremely light and fluffy flick, meatless and worry-free, then Me Time should appeal to anyone who wants a few chuckles and a little harmless fun. It's doubtful that anyone set out to make a top-ten-list piece of cinematic art with this film, and their expectations were met as well. Me Time isn't enough to win over any new Hart converts (his stand-up comedy specials may the best bet for that), but it should please the initiated, or at least pleasantly kill some time until Hart finally gets to host those Oscars.

Produced by Particular Pictures and HartBeat Productions, Me Time is now streaming on Netflix.