The Wedding Ringer

Kevin Hart and Josh Gad seem like an odd pairing, yet in The Wedding Ringer, the two comedic talents slot easily together in this affable, if a bit stale romantic comedy.

Josh Gad is Doug Harris, your atypical nerd who has miraculously - this point is harped on at repeatedly - managed to land himself a beautiful wife in the form of Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting. As they plan their big day, Gad is backed into a corner from lies he's perpetrated over the course of their relationship. Basically, he has no friends and no-one to stand as his best man.

Enter Kevin Hart as Jimmy Callahan - a roguish entrepreneur who's set up a business where, for the right price, he'll act as Best Man for your wedding. However, Gad's character wants more than just a Best Man. He's need seven groomsmen for the bridal party, or what's known in the industry as a Golden Tux. Hart scrambles to gather up seven oddballs for Gad's wedding and begins a course of knocking them into shape via helpful montages and a raucous, unplanned stag party.

Kevin Hart's energy and commitment is never in question, nor is Josh Gad's ability to make a fool of himself for comedic value. It almost feels like they're channelling Eddie Murphy, circa Boomerang and Beverly Hills Cop III whilst Josh Gad has the sheepishness of a young Eugene Levy. Their chemistry cannot be denied, but it's a shame the film surrounding them is so stale.

For one, the whole no male friends / Best Man thing has been done more competently and eloquently with Paul Rudd and Jason Segel's I Love You Man. Not only that, the film swings violently between Katherine Heigl-esque romantic dramedy and all-out, Todd Phillips slacker comedy with a dog biting down a body part. The film, naturally, plays up the wedding planner as an effete loudmouth - but then cleverly subverts it half-way through.

Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting's character is underused until the last ten minutes of the film, only serving to push the plot along or react to Gad and Hart's gaffes and prat-falls. 30 Rock's Ken Howard, who plays Cuoco's on-screen father, plays a particularly nasty piece of work who regularly barks out homophobic slurs and beats the crap out of Hart and Gad in a muddy football game.

In all, The Wedding Planner isn't the worst. It's a decent enough romantic comedy that has some laughs, but there's nothing original or anything to get excited about. Watch at your leisure when it turns up on TV or rental.