Entertainment

Movie Review: The Wedding Ringer

Published

8 years ago

January 19, 2015

Oakland Post

Kevin Hart and Josh Gad star comedy/satire “The Wedding Ringer.”

By Dwight Brown
NNPA Film Critic

In a now infamously leaked email, Screen Gems President Clint Culpepper called comedian Kevin Hart a “whore” because he wanted him to use his huge social media following to promote Think Like A Man Too, and Hart wouldn’t do it without being paid more money. Kevin politely responded in the press, “Knowing your self worth is extremely important people… I look at myself as a brand and because of that I will never allow myself to be taken advantage of.”

Culpepper was wrong. Hart isn’t a “whore,” he’s just “prolific” and good at what he does. He pumps out three to four movies a year like he’s puppy mill. Single-handily, he turns mediocre movies into a comedy event. He earns his paycheck. Don’t hate the player, hate the game!

Doug (Josh Gad, Thanks for Sharing) is a pudgy, four-eyed well-to-do businessman who has landed a dyed-blonde, gold-digging fiancée (Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting, TV’s The Big Bang Theory) who is way out of his league. Their wedding day is two weeks away and the loser has no best man, no groomsmen and not one friend who’ll accept an invitation to his nuptials. Someone pulls his coattails and turns him on to a professional “Best Man.” Jim Callahan (Hart) is the proud, but clandestine owner/CEO of Best Man, Inc. He can rock a wedding with a phony, teary-eyed reception toast, fawning rent-a-groomsmen and a happy ending release.

Writer/director Jeremy Garelick (The Break Up) marks his feature filmmaking debut with this sketchy story that could go in either direction: ribald comedy, or flat formulaic bomb. He’s got just enough of a plotline to sustain a 90-minute film. However, his movie runs 101 minutes. Surprisingly, he keeps the proceedings going at a nice pace and you don’t get bored. In part, that’s because of his nimble writing and direction. Also, his cast breathes life into the characters, interprets the dialogue with zest and knows how to work the sensitive moments, which are thoughtfully interspersed among the dull ones.

Garelick’s filmmaking peaks in three key sequences: One, a wedding dance scene with Gad and Hart doing their well-coordinated interpretation of “The Dougie.” Two, a hard-fought tackle football game that pits Doug’s arrogant, chest-pumping father-in-law (Ken Howard, TV’s The White Shadow) and his senior citizens crew against Doug, Jimmy and the fake groomsmen (“They look like the cast of Goonies grew up to be rapists.”). Three, a bachelor party that involves a Basset Hound, peanut butter and unprotected testicles. (Ouch! Don’t ask, don’t tell!)

Jenifer Lewis plays Jimmy’s sage and sassy secretary, and her self-assuredness is comical and motherly. Jorge Garcia (TV’s Lost), Affion Crockett (A Haunted House) and Aaron Takahashi, as three of the for-hire male entourage, raise a chuckle. Josh Gad goes toe-to-toe up with Hart on the dance floor and in every scene. Hart, with his usual impish charm, manhandles the dialogue, works the character into a frenzy and smiles in such an endearing way you want to give him all the money in your pocket. Gad and Hart have chemistry, but someone tell Gad, it ain’t a real bromance. Hart is moving on to his next comic pairing, real soon. (Get Hard with Will Ferrell opens in March.)

The Wedding Ringer isn’t innovative, but ultimately it’s a crowd-pleasing movie. Hart, with his command of social media, will get fans in theater seats. Garelick’s writing/direction coupled with the cast’s high jinks will keep audiences laughing. But folks keep in mind, though Kevin Hart is not a “whore,” he isn’t marriage material either. This is just a hook up. A comedy booty call. A pretty good one.

Visit NNPA Film Critic Dwight Brown at DwightBrownInk.com.

###

Up Next

The Biggest Problem with ‘Selma’ Has Nothing to Do with LBJ or the Oscars

Don't Miss

TLC Looks to Fund Final Album through Kickstarter Campaign

Oakland Post

Click to comment

Activism

Big Picture Living Day

Through their global network of nearly 300 schools, Big Picture Learning activates their core initiatives by encouraging 6 healthy habits of proper nutrition, movement, healthy relationships, managing stress, adequate sleep and avoiding substances of risks.

Published

4 days ago

June 2, 2023

Oakland Post

By Carla Thomas

On Friday, June 2 Big Picture Lving Day will be celebrated with a series of virtual events designed to improve the life of participants. Through a virtual network of schools and organizations the event will feature speakers on health, wellness, mindfulness, exercise, and overcoming challenges.

Participants will practice Yoga & Mindfulness with Dawn M. Rivers.

Dr. Marsha-Gail Davis will discuss lifestyle medicine and healthy practices, and BPL alumni former advisor Chef Bree reunites with former principal Danique “Dr. DD” Dolly and a few of their former students will discuss health and lifestyle changes.

Big Picture Learning Day was created by

Big Picture Learning, an organization of progressive learning concepts centered around the belief that all students can and should live lives of their own design, supported by caring mentors and equitable opportunities to achieve their greatest potential.

Co-founded by Elliott Washor a veteran educational leader in Rhode Island, BPL grew out of a passion for students and improving the concept of learning.

“We just had this fierce desire to evolve our educational system to one that puts students at the center of their own learning with mentors, time immersed in the community and not evaluated solely on standardized tests,” said Washor.

“The entire Big Picture Learning experience is personalized to each student’s interests, talents and needs beyond mere academic work and involves looking at each student holistically.”

Former BPL principal, Danique Dolly says, “There are youth and adults in schools and organizations throughout the nation practicing the 6 healthy habits and speaking up on it. People have created rooms and spaces that focus on relaxation and meditation. Many adults and youth are taking steps towards wellness, a total lifestyle change and health and wellness are a part of students learning goals just as English and math are.”

“With BPLiving Day we invite all to get up, get out and get living and to do something around health and wellness,” said Dolly.

For students Jasmine Poirier and Angel Feliz and educator Andrew Coburn BPL has been life changing.

“Through collaborative physical movement, nutrition education and eating healthy together and various group activities for relaxation and mental health support, many are finding ways to live healthier and happier,” said Colburn. “For Big Picture Living Day we’re celebrating lifelong healthy habits for teens and the communities around them. BPL Day is a celebration of all the progress we have made.”

“Whether it is in my school campus or through a zoom call with people all across the world, BPLiving has an ability to bring people together to share wellness habits with each other,” said Feliz.

“Through spreading the principles of BPLiving into the everyday academic learning of my peers, I have seen them improve the quality of their lives physically, mentally and emotionally,” said Poirier. “By reestablishing sports culture with school-wide volleyball and capture the flag tournaments, students have been able to connect with each other across different grade levels, become more physically active and take a break from our everyday learning.”

In Oakland at MetWest, a BPL school in Oakland, the garden is run by parents and students. The garden serves as the foundation for nutritional learning and generational collaboration.

Today, Big Picture Learning network schools can be found in over 80 schools in 28 states, and hundreds more around the world.

For more information visit BigPicture.org

Activism

Oakland Post: Week of May 31 = June 6, 2023

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of May 31 = June 6, 2023

Published

4 days ago

June 2, 2023

Oakland Post

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of May 31 = June 6, 2023

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

Bay Area

UniverSoul Circus Opens in Richmond

Described by show organizers as a highly interactive combination of circus arts and theatre that spans musical genres, UniverSoul Circus will feature flipping motorcycles, stilt dancers, Fire Limbo Benders, ancestral carnival characters, clowns, flamboyantly costumed dancers and more “in a celebration of energy.”

Published

1 week ago

May 29, 2023

Oakland Post

Clowns who perform with UniverSoul Circus. Photo courtesy UniverSoul Circus.

By Kathy Chouteau | The Richmond Standard

UniverSoul Circus kicked off its Bay Area run under the Big Top at Hilltop Mall last week with the performances continuing during various times through Sun., June 19.

The UniverSoul Circus is a single ring circus, established in 1994 by Cedric Walker and Calvin “Casual Cal” Dupree, an African American man who had a vision of creating a circus with a large percentage of people of color performing. He began searching for people from all around the world with incredible talents. Richmond police Chief Bisa French and City Manager Shasa Curl were set to be guest ringmasters for the opening night show.

“Get ready to be amazed and frightened at the terrifying, gravity- defying acrobats on the Wheel of Death or the bold, breathtaking daredevils on the High Wire,” said UniverSoul Circus in a statement about the show.

This season’s theme is, ‘We All Belong,’ according Walker, the circus founder and CEO. “We all belong to one human race. Everyone is coming together, different cultures, different people, a new transcultural fusion, a new generation inclusive and together in a UniverSoul Experience!”

Venue:
Hilltop Mall
2200 Hilltop Mall Rd, Richmond, CA 94806

Showtimes:
Thurs-Fri: 7:00 p.m.
Sat: 11:30 a.m., 3:30 p.m., 7:30 p.m.
Sun: 11:00 a.m., 2:30 p.m., 6:30 p.m.

Box Office Hours:
Tues: 11:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Wed-Fri: 11:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Sat: 9:00 a.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Sun: 9:00 a.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Mon: 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. (Memorial Day)

Tickets range from $27.50 to $60 depending on your seat and you can purchase them on Ticketmaster. Visit www.universoulcircus.com for more info.