‘The Wedding Ringer’ Blu-ray Review
Stars: Kevin Hart, Josh Gad, Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting, Affion Crockett, Jorge Garcia, Dan Gill, Corey Holcomb, Ken Howard, Colin Kane, Cloris Leachman, Mimi Rogers, Aaron Takahashi, Olivia Thirlby | Written by Jeremy Garelick, Jay Lavender | Directed by Jeremy Garelick
Confession time. I’m not the biggest Kevin Hart fan. I don’t mind the actor/comedian in small doses – a supporting actor in films such as the remake of Death at a Funeral and the Scary Movie franchise, but I can’t sit through any of his stand-up shows in there entirety and the last movie hes was the “star” of, Ride Along, was – frankly – awful. However I am always willing to give Hart’s film a go – especially when they look, albeit from the trailer, as hilarious as The Wedding Ringer.
And I’m happy to report The Wedding Ringer is not only a fantastic bro-mance flick (yes, they DO exist) but it’s also one of this years funniest comedies! The plot is nothing we haven’t seen before – it’s essentially an ugly duckling story wrapped in modern-day comedy clothing. But the way it is excecuted: from the direction, to the acting, to the humour, is so spot on that the film becomes MUCH more than the sums of its parts.
The Wedding Ringer tells the story of Doug Harris (Gad) , a loveable but socially awkward groom-to-be with a problem: he has no best man. With less than two weeks to go until he marries the girl of his dreams (Cuoco-Sweeting), Doug is referred to Jimmy Callahan (Hart), owner and CEO of Best Man, Inc., a company that provides flattering best men for socially challenged guys in need. What ensues is a hilarious wedding charade as they try to pull off the big con, and an unexpected budding bromance between Doug and his fake best man Jimmy…
It would seem, given how well Kevin Hart plays off against his co-star Josh Gad (one of the most underrated comedy actors working today) here and against Will Ferrell in Get Hard, it would seem that Hart has found the key to creating successful comedies – being the “funny black guy” to white straight men! But, to be fair, The Wedding Ringer has an outstanding cast across the board – including the bizarre band of characters that make up Gad’s ficticious “old friends” and groomsmen – all of whom, somehow, manage to make a lightweight piece of fluff into something more substantial and, come the end of the film, something with real HEART. I’m not ashamed to admit that the bromance between Gad and his army of paid-for bros brought a tear to my eye as the conclusion approached!
DVD and Blu-ray bonus features include: “Going to the Chapel of Love” featurette; select scenes commentary with director Jeremy Garelick and Josh Gad. The Blu-ray also features some exclusive extras, including: 15 deleted scenes; blooper reels; Line-O-Rama; and a music video: “Can You Do This” by Aloe Blacc.
World’s apart from Jeremy Garelick and Jay Lavender’s previous effort, The Break-Up – which the duo wrote together –The Wedding Ringer is released on DVD and Blu-ray on July 6th.
