Here are two recent Netflix drops that should have been funny but start the New Year with a whimper and forced laughter.

Lift (Netflix) - At some point, you must wonder if it’s all about compliance and fulfilling a contract regarding Kevin Hart and Netflix. Because if it isn’t those two factors behind his output on the platform, one really has to wonder what they were thinking of, or who thought these kinds of roles are good fits for Hart (he’s a co-producer). Let’s first agree that Hart has never had a range in acting, and that’s not bad. Stars like Clint Eastwood, Bruce Willis, latter-career Liam Neeson, and Jason Statham have survived on less in Hollywood. So it can be a matter of knowing which roles fit and doing variations on the same portrayal your fans look for. Hart was terrific as a sidekick, but when you put him in the front and center of a film, you better make sure he will carry it effectively. 

Here in Lift, he’s supposed to be Cyrus, a suave master thief who’s wooed by his ex-girlfriend Abby (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), who’s connected to the FBI/Interpol to use his skills on a daring impossible heist that happens on a flight from London to Zurich. Directed by F. Gary Gray (music videos, then The Italian Job, Straight Outta Compton, The Fate of the Furious, etc.), the man does know how to do action sequences, but even he’s stymied by the lack of chemistry between Hart and Mathay-Raw. There’s more interaction between Hart’s Cyrus and his gang of thieves than with the love interest. The film revolves around the art world, but we’re talking about NFTs, which are already dated to 2021, as NFTs aren’t discussed much anymore. Kevin can take this to the bank and cash his check, but we’re left the poorer. 

Ricky Gervais: Armageddon (Netflix UK) - Filmed at the London Palladium, this Gervais special was included in the Golden Globes first-ever award for Best Stand-Up Comedy Special. And yes, this is the one that romped off with the prize, making me wonder if having hosted the Golden Globes in the past is the sure way to get yourself voted and winning! I say that because, to be brutally honest, this is not one of Gervais’ better specials. Like an old master coasting on his ‘Best of’ bag of tricks, this is Ricky just giving us a dose of crank comedy - as in the cranky old man who just wants to whine and complain about hypocrisy in the world and how no one is giving him his fair deal. The first 10 minutes or so, and his examination of the word fascist as applied to him by some in social media, indicates where the special takes us.

Artificial Intelligence, climate change, being woke - they’re all fodder for how Gervais wants to riff on cranky old man. And while there are times that his lines do hit the mark, they’re never quite hitting the dead center, and there seems to be something off with how it’s more whining than offering something genuinely creative, imaginative, or even sincerely funny. To an extent, it reminds me of Chapelle still going on about trans people. Yes, he made his point in the past, but to drag it on in every current show becomes tiring. And I regretfully say that Ricky and Dave were sheer geniuses on the stand-up stage in their time. So, while I still salute Gervais for the comedy he’s brought to my life, I can't help but scratch my head over his getting an award for this particular special.