The world has known for years that Kevin Hart is one of the best stand-up comedians of all time. More impressive is the years of dues he has paid to rise to the top of the entertainment industry, now as a producer and the head of his own production company, "Hartbeat," and with a net worth of 400 million dollars.
Unfortunately, Hart's habit of making very bad comedy movies on Netflix continues, with the latest release, "72 Hours". While watching this waste of two hours, I was amazed that Hart or any of the other cast members could have read this screenplay and then agreed to make the movie. Just about all of the attempts at comedy failed throughout this film, including - once again - the telltale sign of a bad movie - the projectile vomiting over other people scene. Someone, somewhere in the entertainment industry, still thinks that a huge amount of vomiting is funny in a movie. It's even funnier when someone profusely vomits all over other people. Kevin Hart has had too many of these scenes in his movies; this one is one of the all-time worst.
Kevin Hart stars as Joe Nixon, who is an up and coming advertizing executive who has had a few bad campaigns lately. The plan is to connect Joe with some young men in their 20s so he can learn what they like. These four young men are played by three cast members of Saturday Night Live, Ben Marshall (Hunter), Kam Patterson (Freshman), Marcello Hernández (Nick), and their friend who is about to be married, Mason, played by Mason Gooding. None of the attempted humorous scenes and personal connections with Joe Nixon and these younger men worked. The humor is crude, in some cases disgusting, with nothing humorous. Most amazing about this arguably the worst Kevin Hart Netflix comedy movie is that it took four screenwriters to write it: Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg, Kevin Burrows, and Matt Mider. Joe Nixon is also having problems with his girlfriend, Jennifer, played by Teyana Taylor - which is a sub-story that seemed more about making the movie last closer to two hours.
The Rotten Tomatoes ratings are an accurate, very low 14% - with my rating 1% and a must-miss-this-bad-movie recommendation.
Movie Reviews From a Screenwriter's Perspective
Saturday, July 25, 2026
Movie Review: Motor City
The last post on this movie review blog, "The Invite," was a movie that was 100% dialogue and violated the screenwriting mantra, "show don't tell". The new movie "Motor City" is the exact opposite, with about 8 words of dialogue, "all showing, no telling". In the history of moviemaking, Motor City very likely has fewer words of dialogue than since silent films, making production more of an experiment about trying something new than a viable new movie idea.
Motor City stars Alan Ritchson (John Miller), a man who has just been released from probation and works in a factory in Detroit, Michigan, in 1977. John has a girlfriend, Sophia (played by Shailene Woodley), who works as both a waitress and a call girl for an evil criminal, Reynolds (played by Ben Foster). The story that follows we have all seen before, as John Miller is arrested for a crime he did not commit and sentenced to 25 years in prison. How he was set up is explained, all without dialogue, through subtle scenes, facial expressions, and an engagement ring that makes an appearance in many scenes throughout this story. There are some impressive action scenes, with a climax between John Miller and another criminal in an elevator that looked like it took some time to choreograph. Unfortunately, this "no dialogue action movie experiment" did not work.
I agree with the low 66% ratings for this movie and do not recommend it.
Motor City stars Alan Ritchson (John Miller), a man who has just been released from probation and works in a factory in Detroit, Michigan, in 1977. John has a girlfriend, Sophia (played by Shailene Woodley), who works as both a waitress and a call girl for an evil criminal, Reynolds (played by Ben Foster). The story that follows we have all seen before, as John Miller is arrested for a crime he did not commit and sentenced to 25 years in prison. How he was set up is explained, all without dialogue, through subtle scenes, facial expressions, and an engagement ring that makes an appearance in many scenes throughout this story. There are some impressive action scenes, with a climax between John Miller and another criminal in an elevator that looked like it took some time to choreograph. Unfortunately, this "no dialogue action movie experiment" did not work.
I agree with the low 66% ratings for this movie and do not recommend it.
Monday, July 20, 2026
Movie Review: The Invite
When it comes to screenwriting, the number one mantra has always been, "This is a movie, not a novel, show don't tell". The new movie "The Invite", directed by Olivia Wilde, written by Cesc Gay, Will McCormack, Rashida Jones, and starring only four actors, Seth Rogen(Joe), Olivia Wilde(Angela), Penélope Cruz (Piña), and Edward Norton (Hawk) - the entire movie takes place in one small New York City apartment - violating all aspects of the show don't tell rule. Movies like this one, which is a well-done dialogue-only movie, prove that the show don't tell rule should never be applied to all types of films.
The story starts with a married couple, Joe and Angela, who have who face many extreme marital problems, beginning with nonstop arguing and disagreements that continue through the first 20% of this film. The arguments start with Angela inviting two guests over for dinner, who are neighbors in their apartment building. Angela insists that she told Joe days ago that this dinner would be happening, and Joe does not remember this conversation - starting the "you never listen to me" standard marriage argument. Almost all of Joe and Angela's arguments are petty and ridiculous, which adds a strong element of comedy to this mostly comedic movie. By the time the guests arrive, Angela and Joe are still in extreme argument mode, which, for the rest of this story, which is almost 100% dialogue, mutates into arguments with their guests, finding out who they are, what they do for a living, and why Pina and Hawk really came over for dinner this evening.
This movie would never have worked if the dialogue and acting throughout this 1 hour and 47 minute unusual film were not so well done. The Rotten Tomatoes ratings are too high at 97% for a film like this, with my rating a solid 85% and a recommendation.
The story starts with a married couple, Joe and Angela, who have who face many extreme marital problems, beginning with nonstop arguing and disagreements that continue through the first 20% of this film. The arguments start with Angela inviting two guests over for dinner, who are neighbors in their apartment building. Angela insists that she told Joe days ago that this dinner would be happening, and Joe does not remember this conversation - starting the "you never listen to me" standard marriage argument. Almost all of Joe and Angela's arguments are petty and ridiculous, which adds a strong element of comedy to this mostly comedic movie. By the time the guests arrive, Angela and Joe are still in extreme argument mode, which, for the rest of this story, which is almost 100% dialogue, mutates into arguments with their guests, finding out who they are, what they do for a living, and why Pina and Hawk really came over for dinner this evening.
This movie would never have worked if the dialogue and acting throughout this 1 hour and 47 minute unusual film were not so well done. The Rotten Tomatoes ratings are too high at 97% for a film like this, with my rating a solid 85% and a recommendation.
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