A good weekend watch is the surest way to set your coming week for a good time. I had a good read and a good watch this weekend. The first, I鈥檝e already talked about, but the second is what I鈥檓 glad to talk about today. I don鈥檛 know for current Kevin Hart, but old, prime Kevin Hart was such a vibe, and I鈥檓 super glad that I got to see a film I鈥檝e probably seen twice, if not more. The first one was probably the year after it was created, and the second was much after.
The Wedding Ringer (2015)
Jimmy Callahan (Kevin Hart) provides Best Man services through his company, Best Man Inc. The corporation basically caters to grooms who, for one reason or the other, do not have friends to constitute groomsmen for their weddings. This time, Doug Harris (Josh Gad), a successful tax attorney, is planning his wedding with his fianc茅e, Gretchen (Kaley Cuoco). As Jimmy falls in the category of grooms without friends, he contacts Jimmy鈥檚 company for their services. Jimmy agrees to do it (be his best man) for $50k, and with that settled, he undergoes the task of finding seven groomsmen to match Gretchen鈥檚 bridesmaids.
What exactly can go wrong when Jimmy is bringing groomsmen that even he doesn鈥檛 know? The most important task is making their farce believable to Gretchen and her family. As she has never known Doug to have any friends, neither has she seen him do any fun stuff, the task is doubly difficult. With fake identities and even more absurd stories behind each identity, the goal is simple: Make Doug鈥檚 wedding a success and part ways professionally. No ties or strings holding them afterwards. Can they pull it off?
My Thoughts and Rating
I鈥檒l start by saying that if you鈥檙e not a fan of Kevin Hart, or his type of jokes, by all means, this film is not for you. Also, if you鈥檙e not the type who enjoys dark, laugh-out-loud-till-you-cry type of humour, this film is also not for you. And finally, if you鈥檙e the one to pick offense when jokes get too vile, or when there are profanities every seven seconds, this film is certainly not for you.
Now that that鈥檚 out of the way, the premise of this movie is absurd, no doubt about that. So, if you鈥檙e going to watch this from the realistic point of view, you鈥檝e already lost the whole essence. The beauty of this film lies in its absurdity, because you know for sure that if it were in actuality, they will be caught in their facade from the get go. So, it helped that before seeding this film, as I would do with most true comedies and especially peak Kevin Hart films, I shut the deep-thinking and critical part of my brain and just watched.
This film is hilarious. I do not think there鈥檚 a single scene where you wouldn鈥檛, if not laugh out with reckless abandon, at least smile at the sheer humour of it. Given, the film is filled with lots of dark humour, and the joke could get corny at times. In fact, if you鈥檙e seeing it for the first time now, as opposed to ten years ago where things were much simpler and uninhibited, you may find it predictable. But the core of this film is in how funny and weird it is, even with its somewhat predictability . And I loved, given how pressure-filled and nearly terrible the last week went, that I was able to let go off that pent-up steam.
I think what pleased me the most was the ending. Things were tied up quite neatly as with films like these. It gravitated from being hilarious to being sentimental and showcasing a lot of core values. Do not think you won鈥檛 pick up positive themes from this film because you would, especially when friendship in all its depths is tested. Quite a dose of mushy stuff in the ending, but it flows seamlessly, so you don鈥檛 feel too awkward about it.
The Wedding Ringer is in short a most delightful weekend watch, and I鈥檓 glad I got to begin my week with all the positivity it offered. Mindless rating would be a good 7/10. Keep it for when you鈥檙e in need of a good laugh.
Jhymi馃枻
Images from IMDB.
Posted using CineTV