Review Roundup: Kevin Hart & Josh Gad Star in THE WEDDING RINGER

Comedian Kevin Hart joins forces with Tony nominee Josh Gad (Broadway's BOOK OF MORMON) in THE WEDDING RINGER, a new comedy hitting theaters nationwide today, January 16th. The film was written and directed by Jeremy Garelick.

The story follows the awkward Doug (Josh Gad) as he prepares to get married. But when he realizes he doesn't have a best man or groomsmen, he enlists the help of Jimmy Callahan (Hart) and his company Best Man Inc., which assists men in need of last-minute attendants on their wedding day.

THE WEDDING RINGER stars Kevin Hart, Josh Gad, Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting, and Alan Ritchson.

Let's see what the critics had to say!

Nicolas Rapold, New York Times: Mr. Hart tells wild tales, Mr. Gad is humiliated, and most everyone else gets to dish out or receive abuse. But the laughs are not a sure thing.

Justin Chang, Variety: The sweet-and-salty chemistry of Josh Gad and Kevin Hart is good for a few yuks in "The Wedding Ringer," a well-cast but clumsily assembled buddy-for-hire comedy that increasingly smacks of desperation as it approaches its big-day climax.

Jen Chaney, The Washington Post: The most disappointing thing in "The Wedding Ringer" isn't the tasteless, unfunny gag involving a bachelor party, a dog, some dollops of peanut BUTTER and a few other details that can't and shouldn't be printed in The Washington Post. It's not the perpetuation of gender stereotypes that are so outdated, they make the notion that men are from Mars and women are from Venus seem wildly progressive.

Sara Stewart, New York Post: Hart is such a skilled comic - his lightning-fast riffs are almost always funny, even when they're in the midst of hateful dreck like this - that I can't believe he can't talk his way into better material.

Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: The manic energy of Kevin Hart is, surprisingly, toned down in "The Wedding Ringer." Which may account for almost the entire first half of this wannabe-raucous buddy movie being laugh-free. By the time Jeremy Garelick's movie gets to the altar, it does hit a groove. But by then, the humor feels like stale champagne.

Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: ...too often the "Wedding Ringer" looks like a hodgepodge of "Hitch," "Wedding Crashers" and "Bridesmaids" - something borrowed, something blue and all of it half-baked.

Jason Clark, Entertainment Weekly: If THE WILL Smith-Kevin James comedy Hitch didn't quite satisfy your itch to see a suave African-American man teach a rotund white dude how to hang, The Wedding Ringer-the kind of desperate bro-burlesque lately found in January of each year (see: That Awkward Moment)-seems happy to seize the dubious honor.

Jon Frosch, Hollywood Reporter: The rather obvious lesson here is that in the age of Apatow and his cronies, it takes more than fat dudes, dick jokes and dogs with wandering tongues to make us guffaw in spite of ourselves. Frankly, we've seen it all before.

Roger Moore, Seattle Times: There's not much new here. But a savvy, sassy script, smart casting and genuine "I feel sorry for this white boy" chemistry between Hart and Gad make "Wedding Ringer" an R-rated bromance that will touch you as often as it tickles you.

Alonso Duralde, The Wrap: While "The Wedding Ringer" isn't the total waste of time that its painful trailer (and January release date) threatens, it's also a movie whose occasional good ideas are ultimately drowned out by sloppy, contrived screenwriting.

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