The Wedding Ringer

Wedding comedies are a niche genre. They are written for women because every woman loves watching other women try and fail to pull off the perfect wedding. The Wedding Ringer is set out to be the "wedding comedy for men". It misses it's mark though by recycling overused comedy tropes and neglecting its female characters.

Doug (Josh Gad) is an unassuming nerd who, to his surprise, has landed a blonde bombshell fiancé in the form of Gretchen (Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting). Doug needs a best man and seven groomsman to match Gretchen's wedding party. However, he has no friends or family, and in his desperation to give Gretchen her perfect wedding since she is the "perfect girl", he hires Jimmy (Kevin Hart). Jimmy is a professional wedding ringer who will pretend to be your best friend, your best man, and will have some of his friends tag along to be your groomsman.

Kevin Hart is a superstar. He lights up every scene with his charm and lightning fast wit, as Jimmy the best man you don't actually have. He really brings the funny to the film. Not the gross-out boy humor that everyone else is doing, but the smart, witty, and often heartwarming humor that shows why he is one of the most sought after comedic actors of today. Josh Gad is a very easy guy to root for with his nerdy glasses and disheveled curly hair. He's just like every other sap trying to win over the Gretchens of the world. However, there is nothing extraordinary about Doug. He is so run of the mill that when you start to see Jimmy developing a real friendship with him it seems a little strange. Why is Doug different than the dozens of other men Jimmy has been fake best friends with? There is no answer.

The Wedding Ringer seems to be trying to cash in on the kind of humor and antics of previous films like 2011's juggernaut, Bridesmaids. What made that movie work was the fact that it was women behaving differently than we had seen them behave before. Men being gross and rude is normal; it's not new or exciting. Also, a misogynist joke is exactly that. All the "be a man" and "don't be such a girl" is lazy comedy writing. We've seen this movie before- every single other buddy comedy ever made. Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting's Gretchen is the one-note hot girl, her sister Alison (Olivia Thirlby) is the one-note chill hot girl, and Jimmy's secretary, Doris (Jennifer Lewis), is the one-note advice-giving older woman. Altogether, these women would make up one real human woman. The real world is populated by both men and women, but in The Wedding Ringer only the men are fully realized multi dimensional characters.

Hart and Gad have easy and fun chemistry, and it is fun to watch them friend-fall for one another. There are some heartwarming and funny moments for these two buds, but that doesn't make up for all that The Wedding Ringer is lacking to make it a really great comedy.