(Credit: Netflix)

Netflix has gone all-in on the Kevin Hart business, even if it would be fair to say the results have been underwhelming so far, and hardly reflective of the lucrative development deal the actor, producer, and comedian signed with the streaming service.

A rare dramatic turn in Fatherhood may have ended up becoming one of the platform’s most-watched movies ever, but it technically wasn’t a Netflix original after the production was sold off by Sony. When it comes to through-and-through exclusives, encouraging reading it does not make.

Buddy comedy The Man from Toronto teamed Hart up with Woody Harrelson in an action flick that’s about as unmemorable as they come, even by Netflix’s standards in the genre. That being said, it looked like Die Hard compared to Me Time, the wretched Mark Wahlberg co-starrer that’s comfortably one of the worst in-house features the company has ever produced.

Lift saw Hart try his hand at heroism again with equally forgettable results, it’s completely forgivable to forget he even made semi-autobiographical miniseries True Story opposite Wesley Snipes given the way it failed to make a splash, and documentary series Kevin Hart: Don’t F**k This Up didn’t exactly paint him in the best light with the way it dealt with the exposing and fallout from an extramarital affair.

His stand-up specials can at least be relied on to draw in viewers, but it’s one of his earliest major roles that’s emerged as a surprise hit on Netflix this week. Among the first times Hart received top billing in a movie, The Wedding Ringer cast him as motormouthed Bic Mitchum, enlisted by Josh Gad’s groom-to-be to fabricate an entire friendship.

Gad’s introverted and socially awkward Doug Harris doesn’t have many friends or any groomsmen despite being on the cusp of marrying Kaley Cuoco, forcing him to draft in Hart and his Best Man Inc. company in a last-ditch effort to ensure he doesn’t come across as a total loser on his wedding day.

Recouping its budget two and a half times over at the box office, The Wedding Ringer was a modest hit in cinemas despite failing to possess a shred of originality. The hijinks play out exactly as expected, the obvious life lessons are learned along the way, and the inevitable bromance blossoms as what began as a business transaction becomes something resembling a genuine friendship.

It’s lightweight, inoffensive, and disposable comedy, with Netflix users evidently happy to give it 100 or so minutes of their time.