The Wedding Ringer (FILM REVIEW)
The Wedding Ringer
Film Review
by Kam Williams
Kevin Hart and Josh Gad Co-Star in Unlikely-Buddies Comedy
Doug Harris (Josh Gad) and Gretchen Palmer
(Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting) are putting the finishing touches on their impending wedding.
Trouble is the socially-challenged groom has yet to find a best man and they’re
set to exchange vows in just ten days.
He’s been rejected by every acquaintance
he’s approached, receiving rude responses ranging from “I thought you died” to
“I didn’t even invite you to my wedding.” So, Doug decides to hide his awkward predicament
from his fiancée, since he’s too embarrassed to admit that he doesn’t have any
friends.
Instead, he hires a professional best man, Jimmy Callahan (Kevin
Hart), along with seven strangers to serve as his groomsmen. Can these guys get
to know Doug well enough in a week to convince Gretchen and members of the
wedding party that they’re long-lost friends?
That is the preposterous point of departure of The
Wedding Ringer, an unlikely-buddies comedy marking the directorial debut of Yale University
graduate Jeremy Garelick. Provided you are not offended by and are willing to suspend
disbelief about the farfetched setup, you’ll actually be richly rewarded by the
hilarious, bad boy hijinks about to ensue.
Most of the laughs
emanate from the attempt by that motley assortment of unsavory characters to
impersonate refined, white-collar types ranging from a podiatrist, to a
principal, to a lawyer, to a professor. The sham of a best man adopts the alias
“Bic Mitchum” and passes himself off as a priest.
And although he
proves convincing at faking bromance, he warns Doug not to develop feelings because,
“You’re not buying a new friend. You’re hiring a best man.” But despite this strictly
business understanding, coldhearted Jimmy gradually warms to the goofy groom
and the two somehow bond anyway.
That unexpected
development is what ultimately redeems The Wedding Ringer’s otherwise pretty repugnant
premise. After all, how much hope could there really be for a marriage, if a groom
would opt to stage such an elaborate scheme rather than simply explain the
situation to his bride-to-be?
Check your brain at
the box office, and motor-mouthed Kevin Hart, surrounded by a talented cast of
seasoned comedians, will keep you in stitches for the duration of a
decidedly-lowbrow, politically-incorrect misadventure.
Very Good
(3 stars)
Rated R
for crude humor, pervasive profanity, coarse sexuality and brief graphic nudity
Running time: 101 minutes
Distributor: Screen
Gems
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