Susan Granger’s review of “The Wedding Ringer” (Screen Gems/Sony Entertainment)
As his wedding to Gretchen (Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting) draws close, financially successful tax attorney Doug Harris (Josh Gad) realizes he, literally, has no close friends to be groomsmen, escorting the seven bridesmaids down the aisle.
In desperation, he turns to Jimmy Callahan (Kevin Hart), a professional Best Man for help. Predictably, the buddy-for-hire turns into a bromance, as Jimmy’s companionship changes Doug’s nerdy life.
The best parts are in the Coming Attractions trailer, like when Doug first views his prospective groomsmen, noting that they resemble “The Goonies, all grown-up and turned into rapists.” And a disastrous pre-nuptial dinner party during which “Granny” Cloris Leachman catches on fire.
Jeremy Gerelick makes his directing debut, working from a hackneyed, stereotypical script he wrote, years ago, with Jay Lavender, his collaborator on “The Break-Up,” it’s a simple premise that begs the basic question: How did socially awkward Doug win Gretchen’s heart?
Unable to otherwise elicit laughter from contrived jokes about rape and child molestation, Gerelick encourages motormouth’d Kevin Hart (“Ride Along”) to use profuse profanity and stages raunchy, degenerate bachelor-party hijinks with a pseudo-Russian stripper who smears peanut butter on Doug’s private parts and brings in a beagle as a perverse “service dog.”
In addition to humiliating Cloris Leachman, Garelick wastes the talents of Ken Howard, Mimi Rogers and Olivia Thirby, cast as Gretchen’s family. And if Josh Gad’s voice sounds familiar, he was Olaf in Disney’s popular “Frozen.”
FYI: You may notice the now-defunct Miramax logo, so here’s the story. Written back in 2002, the screenplay was stored in a New Jersey warehouse with 18,000 boxes of detritus when Disney sold Miramax to a financial consortium in 2010.
In 2011, producer Adam Fields acquired the rights to mine unproduced Miramax properties, including this, which was initially titled “The Golden Tux.” It was originally intended for Vince Vaughn, who opted to star in “Wedding Crashers” (2005) instead.
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Wedding Ringer” fumbles with an un-funny 3. Decline to attend.
