Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		5.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

The Wedding Ringer Blu-ray Movie Review

See what it did there with the double entendre?

Reviewed by Martin Liebman April 8, 2015

The Wedding Ringer....get it? As in "wedding ring" and "ringer," a synonym for "impostor." It's a cute play on words and almost good-to-go for Wheel of Fortune's "Before and After" category, but is there anything to the movie beyond that, or did someone dream up a clever title and force a movie to fit the mold? Survey says (not sure what's going in with the game show themes here...no whammies!) it should be the latter, but fortunately, The Wedding Ringer is actually a pretty solid Comedy. Sure it's predictable, largely, but it gets about as much mileage out of the story as one might hope, and then a little bit more for good measure. To make things even more agreeable, there's a nice little bit of honest creativity and heart beyond the façade. It's not the next ground-breaking Comedy or something destined for classic status, but that doesn't mean the movie isn't a worthwhile endeavor, a fun, happy-go-lucky entertainment joyride that's as cute as it is clever and as hilarious as it is heartfelt.

Oh, we go way back...about 48 hours back.

Doug Harris (Josh Gad) is a pudgy sports fanatic with zero social skills and no friends. Yet he has somehow managed to become engaged to Gretchen Palmer (Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting), a beautiful blonde who's way out of his league. The wedding is coming up fast, and it's all coming together: the food, the music, the place settings, the preacher, her bridesmaids. But there's one thing missing: his friends, namely a best man and a handful of groomsmen. Doug is too ashamed to tell his wife-to-be that he doesn't have any friends, and his call outs to find people to stand beside him have been rejected by everyone who's ever been a mere acquaintance. When the wedding planner Edmundo (Ignacio Serricchio) puts two and two together and comes up with zero, he throws out a lifeline (OK, enough game show stuff...promise) and sends a desperate Doug to an underground business called TBM, Inc., which stands for "The Best Man." There, he meets Jimmy Callahan (Kevin Hart), a man who will temporarily pretend to be anyone's best friend and best man, for a price. But Doug is a special case. He has nothing on his plate, forcing Jimmy to turn to extreme measures, cautiously taking on the challenge for the heretofore untried "Golden Tux" package that includes a 100% fabrication of everything on Doug's side of the isle. They only have a few days to assemble together some groomsmen, learn their parts, and pull off the performance of a lifetime. Will it be smooth sailing for Doug and TBM, or will real emotions get in the way of business?

The Wedding Ringer is a "Buddy" movie in reverse, where the guys aren't friends but wind up doing all of the sorts of zany things friends tend to do in "Buddy" movies. It's just enough of a twist -- and a clever idea -- to maintain an honest rhythm (save for a mild slowdown in a middle stretch that's more the victim of a couple of moments that could have been trimmed out for pace more than anything else) and find a workable, pliable framework for a bunch of silly antics that all work very well for one simple reason: the main characters enjoy terrific chemistry. Thanks to Hart and Gad, the movie runs with a simple idea and doesn't just toy with everything at its disposal. It instead dives in headfirst, Scrooge McDuck style, and merrily swims with it all. The movie explodes with comic mayhem born of terrific characterization and performances that don't so much sell the movie but instead work the movie, mold it, get everything from it. The film's ebbs and flows of uproarious humor and heart maneuver along readily identifiable, and even predictable, character arcs, but the infectious fun that is the chemistry between Hart and Gad largely mask any raw structural shortcomings and help the movie flow freely, whether in its most absurd antics or its most inwardly emotional moments that challenge the characters to look beyond the surface and discover what's missing beyond the obvious plot driver.

Indeed, Hart and Gad -- the latter doing his best Jonah Hill impersonation -- are the film's lifeblood, and more so Hart than Gad. Hart is flat-out terrific, nailing every line, each new cadence, every "sell" job amongst Doug's in-laws, and the critical heartbeats that shape the film and move the character in the final act. Hart may sometimes, in lesser films, take the overzealous approach and depend too much on physicality and verbal hijinks to sell a character. To some extent, he does that here, but the performance feels much more balanced, true to the film's intent, striking just the right chord that embraces excess and subtlety, lowbrow humor and high-flying spirit. He is essentially an actor playing an actor, and even if the character is a nontraditional actor, Hart still demonstrates a commendable range in both the aforementioned physicality and verbal delivery that shows he's much more than the caricatures he often plays in other films. This is Hart at his absolute best, and if he has something better in the tank, one can only wonder what else he can do. Gad, even if he does lean heavily on the Jonah Hill persona, is still lovably fun, very relatable, and increasingly sympathetic rather than pathetic. The film smartly shapes him not as a loser but simply as a teddy bear with a big heart who might not always make the right choice but who has his compass pointed in the right direction. The supporting band of groomsman misfits are the film's unsung heroes; the eclectic bunch, which includes Lost's Jorge Garcia, ignites the screen by sheer force of agreeable absurdity every time they collectively appear.

The Wedding Ringer Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Wedding Ringer features a crisp, clear, and completely gorgeous 1080p transfer. It makes for a simple review. Details are precise and the image consistently sharp, revealing foreground clothing and skin with unflinching accuracy while maintaining a crisp, consistent definition around the background. There's never a dull moment or detail that's not fully developed. Colors are likewise robust and pleasing, yielding a natural rainbow palette that's precisely and clearly defined through broad stroke shades and nuance alike. Skin tones occasionally push mildly warm with lighting. Black levels appear unproblematic. The image suffers from no perceptible noise, aliasing, edge halos, blocking, or other eyesores. This is a top-tier effort from Sony.

The Wedding Ringer Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Wedding Ringer's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack is aggressive and, mostly, impressive. Music is energetic and agreeable with a wide front stage presence and a very healthy back channel support. Balance can be an issue, though, as lyrics spill out of the rears as aggressively as they do the front. Otherwise, instrumental clarity rates high and there's a nice, balanced low end supporting it. The track also features entertainingly robust wedding reception music and general crowd ambience. Fireworks pop with a healthy, aggressive explosion while other effects -- crashes through glass, a blaring air horn, tackles and spills on a muddy football field -- are presented with lifelike clarity and attention to sonic detail. Dialogue is presented with natural clarity throughout and enjoys a realistic reverberation in the church near the end for a lifelike sense of place.

The Wedding Ringer Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The Wedding Ringer contains several bonuses, including deleted scenes and a "select scenes" commentary. Inside the Blu-ray case, buyers will find a voucher for a UV digital copy of the film.

• Audio Commentary: Select scenes with Director Jeremy Garelick and Actor Josh Gad. Discussions include the shooting schedule, cast and characters, music, shooting and editing, improv, stunts, making the football sequence, and more. For a track labeled "select scenes," it's fairly full and detailed, not to mention fun.
• Deleted Scenes (1080p): Plant a Tree in Israel (0:32), Cavity Search -- Alternate (0:32), Doris Calls for Endo (0:36), Invent Our Own Past (1:03), Bic's Special Prayer (1:42), Courthouse (2:43), Bad Best Man -- Extended (4:34), PJ the Waiter (0:51), Night Plumbers -- Extended (1:57), Holly Munk (1:40), Dirty Gretchen (1:02), Football Whoo-Ha (0:50), Wedding Procession (1:43), Hal Lane Roast (2:03), and Impressive Groomsmen (0:44).
• Outtakes (1080p): Jewish Funeral (1:22), Yiddish (2:41), Bic Bic Bic (5:44), Flashlights (1:02), and Outtakes Reel (3:38).
• Line-O-Rama (1080p, 14:19): Essentially, more outtakes.
• Going to the Chapel of Love (1080p, 6:24): Cast and crew share their real life wedding memories.
• Music Video (1080p, 3:30): "Can You Do This" by Aloe Blacc.
• Previews (1080p): Additional Sony titles.

The Wedding Ringer Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Wedding Ringer takes a clever idea and molds it perhaps not into something special but something hugely agreeable. It's a blast to watch, thanks largely to the blend of clever idea meets well-constructed script meets enthusiastic and chemistry-laden lead performances. Director Jeremy Garelick, in his feature debut, crafts the film smartly but simply, generally just letting Hart, Gad, and their collected sidekicks do the heavy lifting. Though perhaps not a classic-in-the-making, The Wedding Ringer is one of the most agreeable and funny Comedies to come along in the last couple of years. Sony's Blu-ray release impresses. Flawless video, aggressive audio, and a decent array of extra content help make this a release to own. Recommended.