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Wedding Ringer, The

5/10

Stars: Kevin Hart, Josh Gad, Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting, Ken Howard, Cloris Leachman, Jenifer Lewis, Affion Crockett, Olivia Thirlby, Mimi Rogers, Jorge Garcia

Director: Jeremy Garelick

Friendless bridegroom-to-be Doug Harris (Gad), desperate not to blight his forthcoming marriage to hot Gretchen (Sweeting), contacts Jimmy Callahan (Hart), a professional best-man for hire who, for a fee, will construct a CV that includes all of of his and Doug's 'treasured moments together'.

Then there's the matter of the groomsmen: Jimmy assembles as motley a multi-ethnic crew as you could imagine, all primed with their own backstories involving Doug, while Jimmy himself poses as the clergyman who's tubby, bespectacled Doug's best buddy.

This raucous comedy starts brightly enough, but the laughs eventually dry up and it ends as just another average romp off the Hollywood conveyor belt. Best scenes: Jimmy setting fire to Gretchen's beloved Gran (a very game Leachman) to cover up Doug's blabbermouth; and Jimmy and Doug dancing together at a pre-nuptial rave-up.

Otherwise the film peters out rather than ends, with a what-was-that? final scene. It isn't really a gross-out comedy either, apart from one eye-watering sequence in which a dog attacks our hapless hero's genitals.

David Quinlan

USA 2015. UK Distributor: Sony (Screen Gems). Colour by Colorworks.
103 minutes. Not widescreen. UK certificate: 15.

Guidance ratings (out of 3): Sex/nudity 1, Violence/Horror 0, Drugs 1, Swearing 2.

Review date: 14 Feb 2015