Not to doom a film before we start, but does Netflix have an original comedy problem? As a studio, when Netflix has been behind an original comedy movie, the results have been mixed to poor almost every single time. I’m not talking about romantic comedies where it’s 20% comedy / 80% romance or some Oscar film with a few chuckles; I’m talking about a comedic actor with the only intention to make us laugh.
Some of the biggest names in comedy have made their worst comedies at Netflix: Adam Sandler made The Ridiculous 6, The Do-Over, & Hubie Halloween; Amy Schumer made Kinda Pregnant; Jerry Seinfeld made Unfrosted. I could go on and on. Big-time directors, too! Judd Apatow made The Bubble & Christopher Guest made Mascots. It’s kind of bleak.
Then, there is one of the most produced comedians in Netflix’s roster: Kevin Hart.
Since 2019, Hart has recorded 5 comedy specials (if you include his Kennedy Center Honors Mark Twain Prize), been part of 2 Netflix roasts (including his own), created 2 series, and has now starred in 5 Netflix Original Movies, with 72 Hours coming out this weekend.
Four of those films have been comedies (not including Fatherhood as it’s a dramedy at best), and they’ve all come out in the last 4 years. Of the 3 that came before this weekend, they have COMBINED for a 62 on Rotten Tomatoes, with the lowest score awarded to Me Time with a whopping SEVEN out of 100.
And now we have this week’s comedy: 72 Hours.
Cr. Courtesy of Netflix © 2026.
The film is directed by Hart’s longtime collaborator Tim Story, who worked with him on several projects including both Ride Along movies and both Think Like A Man movies; written by two co-creators of Cobra Kai (Jon Hurwitz & Hayden Schlossberg) and two writers of the much-maligned Netflix Original comedy The Package which garnered a 37 Rotten Tomatoes score back in 2018; and features a cast headed by Hart and 3 SNL alums: Marcello Hernandez, Ben Marshall, & Kam Patterson.
This R-rated affair is centered around a bachelor party weekend in Miami in which Hart’s character Joe, a 40-year-old advertising executive trying to reach a younger target demo for a new vodka campaign he desperately needs to land, is invited to by mistake as he’s added to 4 young 20-somethings’ group chat. How could this happen? How would this tight-knit group of friends not realize they added a random stranger and be missing someone they DID mean to invite? Why would they be cool having a sugar daddy upgrade their weekend for no reason and hang out along with them? Your guess is as good as mine.
72 Hours is a real “just go with it” attempt at simultaneously bucking the trend of poor results from Hart’s Netflix comedy movie output and resurrecting the “destination celebration gone terribly wrong” premise that thrived 10-15 years ago with movies like The Hangover, Bridesmaids, & Girls Trip. The film delivers very little of the chemistry & laughs that its predecessors did to become iconic in the genre with a shaky story foundation to boot.
Kevin Hart — the buff, no-grays, getting serious with Teyana Taylor guy who is a heartbeat away from being promoted to a top position — is supposed to be considered an old, out-of-touch loser with Peter Pan syndrome? A guy putting them up in luxury, bringing bottles of free booze, & getting them on a yacht — the only problem is HIS AGE?!
Premise absurdities aside, the movie tries its hardest to recreate the madness & magic of a Hangover-style story without the brilliant casting, outlandish performances, & mysterious discovery-style structure. The final 30-45 minutes has a real Mad Libs collision of preposterous events that seem even too much for a movie going for too much. Bachelorette Party criminals? Waking up on a deserted island only to be saved by a whale penis smuggler? A character getting stung by a jellyfish? And, of course, what Hangover rip-off would be complete without a drug kingpin kidnapping their friend? Sound familiar?
Cr. Alan Markfield/Netflix © 2026.
The film does its best comedic work in its more subtle characters & lines than it does in the execution of its more high-profile, gross-out features. Zach Cherry (Fallout) as Joe’s co-worker proclaiming he “doesn’t know what his wife’s titties look like anymore.” Ben Marshall (Please Don’t Destroy/SNL) as the meek, post-breakup friend in the group, Hunter, dropping this hilarious line in the club: “I feel like a fucking pervert talking to women in person, would much rather comment on her Instagram until she notices.” Anna Garcia (Die Hart) as unhinged bachelorette party girl Trixie proclaiming she “already has a condom on” when trying to hookup with Joe. These are the little moments that made me appreciate the talented people trying their best with a film largely ill-fated by poor writing.
If you’re a Kevin Hart fan, maybe this one will work for you as much as his previous Netflix films have, but don’t expect 72 Hours to be the one shining example of a major comedy star succeeding in an original film at the streamer. This one isn’t even the best Netflix comedy of 2026, which would not be hard to do.
Watch 72 Hours If You Like
- Obliterated
- The Hangover
- Bridesmaids
- Girls Trip
- Think Like A Man Too
- The Package
MVP of 72 Hours
Ben Marshall as Hunter
Marshall has most of the best lines of the movie and has at least ONE interesting character detail as the recently dumped – and cheated on many times – friend in the group. Calling Kevin Hart in a neon, multi-colored robe “Black Elton John” can’t hurt either.
Not as bad as the low bar Me Time set for Kevin Hart Netflix films, but 72 Hours fails to make a tough-to-swallow premise make sense and doesn’t provide enough laughs and character to even come close to the Hangover-type films it wanted to be.
