The Wedding Ringer (January 2015)

Official Australian release date: 22/1/15. Viewed: 20/1/15.

Director: Jeremy Garelick

Actors: Kevin Hart, Josh Gad, Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting, Olivia Thirlby, Ken Howard

Genre: Comedy

Rating: MA

‘The Wedding Ringer’ has a terrible title, but actually surprised me – it was very funny! Consistently! A very simple premise: Groom-to-be has no friends, literally has to buy a Best Man, mishaps ensue. The reason this film works is down to the two very likable leads – Gad as Doug & Hart as Jimmy/Bic. They have very different comedic sensibilities, but work great together on screen – I feel this is the first time we’re seeing each of them begin to reach their potential. They’re both much more charming, relaxed and believable than they were, respectively, in ‘Wish I Was Here’ and ‘Ride Along’.

The script isn’t terribly inventive – it’s nothing not seen in ‘Hitch’ or ‘I Love You, Man’ – but it does have a great pace, a very solid cast and never gets unfunny for too long. The ending is kind-of obvious – there’s a little twist – but the 10-strong support cast (including the seven hired groomsmen) makes each scene fun to watch. Some great set pieces – meeting the family for the first time, the gridiron match, the Bucks Party, the dance-prep – which let all the cast play a part.

I really enjoyed this and have to give it a good rating because the film did precisely what a comedy sets out to do – make you laugh! Sure, some stupid moments, but I definitely spent the majority of the film laughing or smiling, and there’s some heart thrown in to boot. I look forward to what Hart does over the coming decade…

Overall: Very enjoyable comedy – ticks all the boxes.

Gav's Rating: 4 stars.