'72 Hours' on Netflix: It's Time to Say Goodbye
Netflix returns to the generational gap, this time with Kevin Hart in a bachelor party comedy. Attempting to channel the chaos of 'The Hangover', the film ends up being embarrassing, unfunny, and largely mindless.
By a quick calculation, the average score of films starring Kevin Hart on IMDb barely scrapes a 6. On Rotten Tomatoes, the average doesn't even cross the 30 percent threshold. These data force the average viewer to ask one simple question: why does Netflix insist on continuing to produce films starring this comedian? Until a satisfactory answer is found, the streaming giant continues to treat — or torture — its subscribers with another film in the same style, which can be framed as a bad joke at their expense.
As part of a massive tsunami of similar films, 'Incoming' (72 Hours), which hit Netflix over the weekend, seeks to examine the gap between millennials and Generation Z. Wrapped in the guise of a wild bachelor party comedy, it turns out to be a pale imitation of 'The Hangover', filled with flaws, clichés, and stupidity that starts and ends with its lead star.
The script was written by John Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg, the duo behind 'Cobra Kai', alongside Kevin Burrows and Matt Mider. Directing is Tim Story, who helmed the pleasant 'Barbershop' and has previously worked with Hart on 'Ride Along' and 'Ride Along 2'.
This time, the team has signed off on a disappointing story centered on Joe Nixon (Hart), a 40-year-old advertising man who dreams of a promotion. After a failed presentation for a vodka brand, Joe gets 72 hours to prove his worth. Through a convenient plot device, he is accidentally added to a group chat of friends preparing for a bachelor party. In a moment of idiotic epiphany, he realizes this is his chance to connect with Gen Z and joins the group for a weekend of partying in Miami. In his attempt to adapt to the young vibe, Joe acts like a boomer. At one point, it turns out that snorting cocaine develops an alter ego of a stupid drug dealer named Ricardo Montana, who stars in two of the most embarrassing scenes in streaming history — including a fight with comedian Katt Williams.
Alongside Mason Gooding ('Scream'), the group includes Marcelo Hernandez, Cam Patterson, and Ben Marshall — three 'Saturday Night Live' comedians, making this meeting a sort of unofficial passing of the torch from Hart to the next generation.
Kevin Hart plays, well, Kevin Hart: a neurotic type with fast-paced delivery and exaggerated body movements. The fact that he is an actor with a limited range is not news; after this film, one can say with confidence that he has no range at all. Hart should have stayed on the stand-up stage, and it is a pity no one has told him that to his face.
But Hart is only a symptom of a larger problem called 'Incoming'. It is a poorly written film devoid of a single funny gag. It is wrapped in clichéd banality about an older man afraid of commitment, searching for himself in the 'wonderful' experience of a midlife crisis. It becomes especially sad when this is explicitly stated toward the end; even the characters are aware of the hackneyed cliché the film represents.
'Incoming' joins the wave of intergenerational gap films, but fails to present this divide convincingly. It relies on disgusting physical humor, including vomiting and whale penises, interspersed with 'deep' wannabe scenes. With all due respect to the weak attempt at dramatic writing — it doesn't work.
Netflix will undoubtedly release more mediocre films in the future. But the only clear thought that comes to mind after watching this nonsense is this: terminate Kevin Hart's contract immediately. It doesn't work. It's not funny. And at this stage, it's just embarrassing.
