The Wedding Ringer was a surprisingly enjoyable film. It had an interesting and creative plot whereby Kevin Hart had to manufacture not only a best man but a series of friends for his client, the soon to be groom. Aside from this unique plot there are many laughs and turns as the duo prepare for the upcoming wedding. Hart and Josh Gad hit it out of the park in their roles and the bromance and chemistry that is built is believable and a treat to watch. The two steal the show in a scene when they dance at somebody else's wedding. Other memorable scenes include the crew quickly filming some life memories to show at the wedding rehearsal. It also had a good sentimental balance where the duo actually form a real friendship and they begin to question a few of their life choices. What was also great was it did not include an unnecessary romance that annoyed the viewers. If you want a good laugh and a film that has some substance then you should watch this. A big improvement on the number of baseless, vulgar and stale romantic comedies Hollywood has tried to jam down our throats. A strong 7.5 out of 10.

2005's 'Hitch' starring Will Smith and Kevin James was a surprisingly big box office hit. So for another film ten years later to copy the concept makes sense. 'The Wedding Ringer' has a number of similarities to that film, mostly in terms of its two stars acting style and appearance. The problem however is that neither have close to the charisma or acting abilities or the previous two. Smith and James found a terrific chemistry and played off each other perfectly. Kevin Hart and Josh Gad on the other hand looked like they were in separate movies. They never found any common ground and were rarely able to make the audience laugh.The movie also had the potential to have some real heart with a strong ending. Instead though, it decides to throw everything out the window and leave you with what is really quite a bleak ending when you stop and think about it. A couple of good moments abound here and there. 'The Usual Suspects' spoof was brilliantly done and even gave me goosebumps, and the final line of the entire film was unquestionably the best of the lot. In between those moments though there's a lot of dull scenes that try to be either emotional or funny, and almost always fail to be either. Not a lot to see here.

"The Wedding Ringer" is another modern comedy that tries to have it both ways. It goes for gross-out, outrageous humour, referencing topics like child abuse and zoophilia, but also tries for moments of soppiness. It gets neither, perhaps because the script is just so clichéd and yet poorly assembled that it seems to lurch from one familiar moment to the next. It's like the movie has a split personality, one good, one evil, both exhausted.The movie opens with the suave, charming pretend best man played by Kevin Hart (is he the "Wedding Ringer" of the title? What is a "wedding ringer"?) killing it in his role as a best friend for hire, fooling everyone with a marvelous speech. The guy who hired him thinks they might actually be friends, but no! Hart is a cold S.O.B. who is only in it for the money. But could he possibly have a heart (no pun intended) after all? Anyway, our hero tracks him down to employ his services as a best man for his own wedding - he's an average looking fat guy with no friends who has improbably convinced some blonde babe to marry him: Kaley Cuoco, who has made a career of playing the blonde babe with an improbable connection to quirky geeks and misfits.If you aren't clichéd out by now, it gets worse: Kevin Hart doesn't want take the job! He laughs in the hero's face!Just once I would like to see a movie which begins with someone being offered a job and them accepting it. Why do they ALWAYS have to turn it down at first? Of course, something happens - who cares what, it's so trite you stop paying attention - to make Hart change his mind.Then we get obligatory scenes of Hart and the loser hero - Josh Gad, I think the actor who plays him is called - rehearsing for their pretend friendship. In a wiser comedy, this material could actually be poignant and truthful, but of course it just goes for silly montages showing ridiculous ways of faking photos to convince people they have a history.The movie gets more than a little weird in its reliance on cliché when Hart has to assemble a group of groomsmen who will also pretend to be the loser hero's friends, and exclusively chooses weirdos. Why would someone as gifted at the con as Hart's character is shoot himself in the foot so ridiculously by choosing his partners in crime so poorly? They look like they're not even from the same universe as him. I fear, reader, it is because believable conmen like Hart's character would become a bit creepy if we saw them fool everybody to that extent. Not to be - we need easy laughs, again, to distract from the essential sadness of the movie's premise, that some people don't have friends and have to buy them to avoid embarrassment. We don't get those laughs, but never mind. If the movie didn't lose me here, the "Bachelor Party"/"Hangover Part Twelve" scene that came soon after did. We needed the gross out, and the graphic male nudity, so we get a party which spirals out of control and, wouldn't you know it, all the freaky groomsmen's weirdness comes in handy after all, as if this were a kids' movie circa 1994, trying to teach us to value the individuality of people.Or, you know, perhaps the filmmakers just ran out of grown up movie clichés and started ripping off "The Mighty Ducks". There is also an obligatory sports scene, with quick editing of people getting rammed into, falling over, getting muddy... and then the heroes winning, despite the presence of the 6'10" Ed "Too Tall" Jones, a football hero in real life, and another guy who's 6'6". They could have made this scene at least halfway believable by casting average guys. What was the point of making the opposite team actual NFL retirees? You know how it's going to end between Hart & Gad. What may be harder to believe is that they try for a sweet moment after some of the other garbage the movie contains. It veers between gross out and glucose to quickly it could give you whiplash. Hart does have a few funny moments though. As with "Get Hard", he is the only thing about this movie that works.

'The Wedding Ringer' was a surprise hit and a refreshing take on the comedy genre in it's release. When Doug (Josh Gad), a groom-to-be is pressed to find a 'Best Man', he eagerly hires Jimmy (Kevin Hart), a false friend to fill the void.1. The script was written surprisingly well as there are funny lines throughout that makes you laugh-out loud and chuckle as the film progresses. Jeremy Garelick not only does well as a co-writer, but as a director as well, with this being his first feature. The editing is tight and precise so the movie has a nice flow to it which makes you forget about any minor, unfunny or awkward bits. The best writing though comes from the two leads, who has the more funny interactions between them.2. Both Kevin Hart and Josh Gad make a surprisingly good comedic pair, and I'm sure some of their dialogue is ad-lib. Hart's timing is better here than how it is in his other films. He's never played as the short talkative black man and neither is Josh Gad acknowledged as the clumsy fat guy (except in the opening sequence). Kaley Cuoco plays the bride-to-be, but her performance isn't as outstanding or memorable unlike Hart and Gad, as well as the other funny groom's men that form the 'Golden Tux'.3. There's not very many inconsistencies in funny dialogue, but there are a couple unnecessary set-pieces; the dog biting Doug's penis with a race to the hospital while evading a cop and the rugby match against Doug's would-be father-in-law (Ken Howard) and his older friends. Also, setting granny on fire was kind of an old joke at this point too. The acting is great for a comedy film, although some characters like Olivia Thirlby and the other bride's maids feel out of place just a bit since it adds an uninteresting sub-plot.All in all, this film was a lot of fun, especially with a big audience. It's more memorable than most comedies in the past few years. Again, Kevin Hart and Josh Gad are the most impressive and entertaining at that. Just watch, enjoy and laugh:)