Diksha Sundriyal
In Netflix’s ‘72 Hours,’ Kevin Hart takes on the role of a middle-aged man who makes some unlikely friends. Joe Nixon is a successful ad executive, but his years of hard work are on the brink of being undone. It turns out he has lost touch with the young generation and cannot make ads for them anymore. He has the opportunity to learn from experience when he is accidentally added to a bachelor party group chat. He joins a group of four twenty-somethings to spend a weekend with them and get back in the game. Directed by Tim Story, the comedy movie takes the audience on a roller-coaster ride that completely changes Joe’s life over the course of three days. SPOILERS AHEAD.
The Fictional 72 Hours Deliver an Intergenerational Story
’72 Hours’ is a fictional story, written for the screen by Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg, Kevin Burrows, and Matt Mider. While the story is not particularly inspired by a true event, the setup of an older man mixing with the younger generation was reflected in the cast’s experience. Like Joe, Kevin Hart found himself working with the twenty-something comedians on the rise. As they worked together, the young actors learned a lot from Hart, who is a veteran in the industry. Joking about how close to home the story hits for the ‘Ride Along’ actor, co-star Ben Marshall told Tudum, “72 Hours is, in many ways, the story of Kevin Hart realizing he’s old now. [It’s] Kevin Hart trying to fit in with the young guys, which is very real in his personal life from what I have read.”
Meanwhile, Mason Gooding, who plays the groom-to-be, remarked that the film reflects the “cultural exchange that takes place when interacting with different generations.” He noted that the different generations of comedians working together on the movie help bridge the “generational divide,” blending different forms of comedy and offering something new to the audience. Hart echoed this sentiment and revealed that he learned a lot from his young co-stars. Having worked in the film business for several decades now, the actor admitted that he had not felt the excitement of making a movie the same way he did when he was starting out.
While he still loves the job, age and experience seem to have blunted the enthusiasm that he saw in his co-stars. “That hunger – that fresh feeling of, ‘Oh my God, I can’t believe I’m doing a movie’- those are feelings I don’t have as much because I’ve been doing it for so long. But it was refreshing to be around this new generation that has it. It made me just as hungry,” he added. Apart from the film’s unique premise, the cast also found Tim Story’s approach very helpful in building their own brand of comedy.
Marshall revealed that the director was very chill and easygoing, and he encouraged the actors to improvise scenes to give the comedy a more natural feel. The actor noted that the improvisation also allowed them to infuse the characters with their own personalities, making each group member distinct and unforgettable. Thus, the filmmakers ensured that, despite being a story about fictional people, the film retained a sense of groundedness that not only makes it more fun but also highly relatable to the audience.
Read More: Where Was 72 Hours Filmed? All Shooting Locations
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