Me Time Wasted Its Best Character – No, Not Sonny or Huck

One of the most noticeable aspects of Netflix’s recent movie output is how the streaming service is leaning into Hollywood A-listers. Extraction turned into a franchise starring Chris Hemsworth, The Old Guard series is being led by Charlize Theron, Jamie Foxx is piloting Day Shift, while The Gray Man is aiming for a spy universe with Ryan Gosling at the helm. On the comedic front, Kevin Hart’s leading the charge, starring in The Man from Toronto and now Me Time.

Interestingly, it’s not just Hart’s Sonny carrying Me Time, but Mark Wahlberg’s Huck as well. As much as he’s an action star, Wahlberg does love a good comedy, per films like The Other Guys and Daddy’s Home. However, while one would assume one of them would be the best character in this comedy, that’s not the case. This went to someone not even touted in the film’s marketing, and sadly, they ended up being wasted in the flick.

This is none other than Ilia Isorelýs Paulino’s Thelma, who was the surprising third wheel to the duo. She came to the fore when Sonny and Huck lost the plot at a pseudo-Burning Man festival thrown for Huck’s 40th birthday. Sadly, the party was wrecked by a gangster, Stan, to whom Huck owed money, resulting in them hitching a cab after being given a week to gather the cash.

Thelma drove them back home to California; however, they made a detour to wreck the home belonging to Armando, the boss Sonny thought was moving in on his wife, Maya. While Sonny and Huck struggled to bash the house, Thelma had no moral compass. She smashed up the kitchen, causing them to rein her in. She clearly had a dark side, loving the chaos and coming off as the profane wildcard who didn’t take crap from anyone.

She cut a figure akin to Jonah Hill’s Seth from Superbad, shifting the film from a buddy road-trip adventure to a terrible threesome. At this point, Sonny and Huck felt like generic characters: the former, a family man, and the latter, an old dude trying to stay young. But Thelma was young, fresh, bold and dynamic. Her fearlessness showed up in Me Time’s finale when Sonny recruited her to rescue Huck from Stan. Unfortunately, the conclusion fell flat as they walked away without any brawl. The thing is that a fight would have been a cool way for her to display the skills she touted and uncage the beast within, beating down Stan and his hitwoman, Dorit. It’d have revealed more elements to Thelma while surprising the guys who thought she was just talking a big game.

The film didn’t even show her big feat: pooping on Stan’s bed, even though she claimed it was bigger than what Sonny did in Armando’s bed. The fact that Me Time did show Sonny’s nasty prank but not Thelma’s felt like it didn’t want her stealing his thunder and getting the glorious moment she so rightfully deserved. Ultimately, it didn’t service the character after setting her up as this badass daredevil that left the guys wondering exactly who they befriended. Simply put, the scene-stealing Thelma was squandered potential after being the heart and soul of Sonny and Huck’s reunion, reminding them to be their authentic selves, no matter what.

To see how Thelma shines but ends up wasted, Me Time is streaming now on Netflix.