Review: 'The Wedding Ringer' (2015)

Miramax

It was this time a year ago that Kevin Hart became a January legend at the box office with the success of Ride Along. Fast forward one year, Hart’s newest vehicle, The Wedding Ringer, attemptd to mimic that same success. Unfortunately, American Sniper had its own plans for success, preventing The Wedding Ringer from bringing in the same type of numbers Ride Along did. Though, this does not mean it has nothing to offer. As it is somewhat flat as a comedy, The Wedding Ringer does manage to find success with a more sentimental, even if extremely simplistic, approach, also causing for one of Hart’s more well-rounded performances.

The Wedding Ringer is a ‘bromantic-comedy’ through and through with Hart and Josh Gad’s characters sharing nearly every seen together. Doug (Gad) and Gretchen (Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting) are getting married and while Gretchen has had no trouble assembling her half of the wedding party, Doug has basically asked every male he has ever met to be his best man but having no luck. With the wedding just days away, Doug is desperate. This is where Jimmy (Hart), the self-proclaimed ‘wedding ringer’, comes into the picture. An actual business, Jimmy acts as a groom’s best man. Doug comes to Jimmy, not just needing him as a best man but also six other groomsmen (what Jimmy refers to as a ‘golden tux’). Reluctant at first to take on this monumental task, Jimmy finally agrees to help Doug out. The two now just have a handful of days to prepare to fool everyone on Doug’s big day.

First and foremost, The Wedding Ringer attempts to be a comedy but the problem is that it’s only mildly funny. Sure, it has one or two big laugh moments but other than that, over played, pointless gags, awful musical sound effects and awkward, fantasy-like moments are scattered throughout the first two thirds of the film. For example, one situation that is supposed to cause a roar of laughter involves a dog that gets lock jaw, peanut butter and a bachelor party. Anybody can connect those dots and when they are connected, it’s obvious that this bit isn’t anything new or amusing. This type of humor keeps the film from really going anywhere for a strong majority of its running time.

One aspect that needs special note is how much of the laughs are supposed to be generated by the Doug’s fake wedding party. When I say this, I am referring to the 6 men that aren’t the best man, which excludes Harts character. I mean, ‘unfunny’ is an understatement here. Each one is supposed to have their own quirky way but it’s all nothing we haven’t seen before, therefore getting old fast and taking way from Hart and Gad.

Fortunately, Hart and Gad still dominate most of the screen time. Gad fits into the role of Doug, a smart, successful man that really can’t be considered a ladies man but is a nice guy to say the least. Gad does all he can with the role but isn’t given a whole lot to work with. Hart, for different reasons than you would expect, is the one who gathers most of the attention. At this current moment in cinematic comedy, Hart is someone that has the ability to steal a scene. It is usually due to the fact that his turbo charged, energetic approach is just down right funny but the guy can also do it with just a smile. He is a joy to watch, plain and simple. The Wedding Ringer features this at times but for the most part Hart is a much more reserved, especially in the films second half, than we are used to seeing. This isn’t a bad thing by any means. As the film becomes less of a comedic romp about a guy who doesn’t have a ‘best man’ and more about a guy who doesn’t have any friends but is finding one, Hart is asked to tone down his signature style and become more emotionally tied up into the situation. Now, Hart isn’t the next Jack Lemmon but his subtle, heartfelt approach to this task has real flashes of authenticity.

Yes, The Wedding Ringer has a few laughs here and there but never really gets all the way down the aisle as a comedy. The good news is that the last 20 to 30 minutes are actually halfway decent as it quits trying to be a full out comedy and becomes a simple but worthy message about friendship. Add this to increasingly likable characters in Doug and Jimmy, along with Hart’s likability and The Wedding Ringer isn’t a total lost cause.

Grade: C+

Review: 'The Boy Next Door' (2015)

Universal Pictures 

The way that The Boy Next Door plays out makes it hard to think that the premise it takes on could actually make for a half way decent thriller. Yes, it’s an interesting premise that could really bring up questions of vulnerability, morals and ethical conduct all while being an exciting, accelerated pulse inducing film. And yes it does move fast and attempts be exploitative with each and every scene but in the process, this approach completely back fires and then some. Quickly after it begins, it doesn’t take long to realize that The Boy Next Door is clearly a film more concerned with moving from one over the top, poorly conceived plot point to the next than trying to develop characters or build any type of tension or suspense.

            

              In The Boy Next Door, life hasn’t been kind to Claire Peterson (Jennifer Lopez) as her husband (John Corbett) has recently cheated on her. In an attempt to get back on her feet and forget the past, Claire agrees to go on a date that her friend and colleague Vicky (Kristin Chenoweth) arranged for her. The date doesn’t go so well and Claire leaves the date early to go back to an empty house as her son (Ian Nelson) is with his dad for the weekend. As she drinks the disappointing night away, Noah (Ryan Guzman), her neighbor (hints the boy next door), ask her to come over and help him with some trouble he is having in the kitchen. It is here that the inevitable happens and Claire gives in to Noah’s seductive manner and sleeps with him. Given that Noah is a student at the school Claire teaches at and also that he wants more than just a one time, sexual experience, trouble ensues for Claire.

            

                There is no way of getting around the fact that The Boy Next Door is a poorly written script. There is plenty of cringe worthy, throw away lines but that can be forgiven if characters hold wait and moments are earned by letting tension build and develop but this isn’t the case.  It’s almost as if screen writer Barbara Curry thought that a scandalous sex scene and an obsessive teenage boy doing terrible things is enough. That’s how the film moves along anyway as if the whole thing is a bullet point presentation, just moving from one plot point to the next.

            

               This makes it hard to care what happens to the characters and as the film reaches it’s end, you wonder who these characters even are. You may dislike the antagonist but nothing is done to prove that protagonist even deserves a happy ever after. Yeah the boy next door is crazy but that’s what you get when you sleep with a high school student.

The few things we do need to know about them is just thrown in where it is needed to support the next obscure plot point. Yes, I said obscure. As Noah’s action become crazier so does the situation. It becomes not only how fast the next scene or action can be reached but also how much more outlandish it can be. This all becomes very comical given how poor several scenes are. If this isn’t realized before it will be in the when a character gets stabbed in the eye with an EpiPen.

The Boy Next Door is a bad movie, simple as that. In the process of being a bad movie though, it becomes a kind funny-dumb experience which brings its entertainment value up a slight notch. It doesn’t try to be funny but because it becomes increasingly more ridicules as each minute passes it’s hard not to be slightly entertained. With that said though, in no way, shape or form am I suggesting a trip to the theater but when this movie finds itself on television in a couple of years and there is absolutely nothing worth watching on, if it’s on, consider giving it a watch for a laugh or two.        

Grade: D+