Weddings are stressful enough, whether you’re a part of the parties (groom or bridal side) or just there for the festivities, there is always high tension and anxiety filled with love and laughter as well but it’s never really an ‘easy’ day there’s always something. With Shania Steinberg penning the script as her first time writing a feature and Simon West (Con Air, The General’s Daughter, Lara Croft) craft a hilarious and ingenuous take on the trials and tribulations of a wedding, and all the chaos that comes with it.
The movie focuses on Betsy (Anna Camp) as she is about to get married and wants her best friend to be her maid of honor, Sam (Rebel Wilson), and she is until she gets distracted by work and her bridesmaids, Lydia (Da’Vine Joy Randolph) and Zoe (Gigi Zumbado) convince Betsy maybe Sam isn’t the right choice for the job as she’s too distracted and keeps disappearing – so she enlists her future sister in law Virginia (Anna Chlumsky) who is more high strung and demanding than a bride who has cold feet. The downside to this is that no one knows what Sam really does for a living, so no one knows the reason why she keeps disappearing is because she’s in actuality a secret agent and works for essentially the CIA. Her handler, Nadine (Sherry Cola) is the devil on her shoulder in of sorts, and convinces her to focus more on work than anything but Sam ends up at the wedding in Savannah anyways after realizing she cannot miss her best friends special day.
The other side of the wedding party consists of the groom, Ryan (Sam Huntington) whose kind of an all-around dorky lovable goof ball, his best man Chris (Justin Hartley) whose catching the eyes of everybody, and the rest of the cast is filled out by Zoe’s husband – Dave (Remy Ortiz) and Betsy’s father (Michael O’Neill). While things are relatively normal for the wedding, everything takes a turn when a group of mercenaries led by Kurt (Stephen Dorff) come in to wreak havoc and ruin the wedding in terms of wanting the family assets as Ryan comes from inherited money and wealth. With chaos unfolding, Sam realizes her unwelcomed presence now is thankfully helpful as she tries to ensure everyone’s safety and stop Kurt’s plan from taking afoot.
The reason why Bride Hard works is because the movie is so inherently insane and over the top but grounded by realistic writing and a director who knows how to capture action scenes and fight choreography. The blending of the ‘most magical day’ and sheer utter chaos and betrayal blends for a comedy that is enjoyable and sure to entice audiences for a wild time. The cast though is where Bride Hard shines – Rebel Wilson and Anna Camp have incredible chemistry together as audiences know from the Pitch Perfect franchise, and the addition of Justin Hartley, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Anna Chlumsky, and Sherry Cola all blend with the cast excellently in their roles as well, bringing unabridged comedy and hilarity to the forefront. While Stephen Dorff is consistently great as the evil leader he does get overshadowed by the rest of the cast – but his presence is still certainly felt.
Bride Hard certainly has no right to work as well as it does – it’s a movie in theory that feels like something you’d see in the early 2000s with a bunch of actors who have fallen off. However, what West and Pleasants deliver with their direction and script creates something so genuinely hilarious and over the top that is going to delight audiences and turn even the most cynical comedy fans over to a few hearty chuckles as they enjoy the jokes and fast paced action that is surely delivered with this genre mashing blast.
