Bride Hard, directed by Simon West, is one such film — an action comedy that squanders its talented cast and intriguing premise on a tedious, uninspired 105-minute slog.
Oscar winner Da’Vine Joy Randolph, relegated to a minor supporting role, does what she can with moments like serenading an unborn baby with “My Neck, My Back” or cheekily flirting with a man of the cloth. Justin Hartley adds occasional physical comedy as an arrogant buffoon who mistakenly believes he’s a badass. Rebel Wilson’s lead character, Sam, delivers a few funny lines, notably when she describes her bridesmaid look as “like if Ariana Grande joined the Real Housewives,” and inventively wields curling irons as makeshift nunchucks. Yet, even these small highlights cannot rescue the film’s overall lack of humor, heart, or thrill.
At its core, Bride Hard attempts to blend the comedy of Bridesmaids with the action intensity of Die Hard. The screenplay by Cece Pleasants and Shaina Steinberg centers on Sam, a secret agent struggling to balance her demanding career with personal relationships. She arrives just in time for her childhood friend Betsy’s wedding on a private island — a ceremony soon disrupted by an armed mercenary attack led by Stephen Dorff’s character. As chaos unfolds, Sam uses her spy skills to pick off enemies in a manner reminiscent of classic action movie plots.
The premise has potential, and the cast is surprisingly strong, featuring Anna Camp as Betsy’s distant friend, Sherry Cola as Sam’s work pal Nadine, and Anna Chlumsky as Betsy’s passive-aggressive future sister-in-law. However, the film’s execution is frustratingly careless. Instead of developing these characters and their relationships, the story plunges into a confusing chase through Paris streets. Action sequences are choppy and chaotic, lacking the crisp choreography that often defines memorable action movies.
Bride Hard also struggles with its script. The humor veers from uninspired to painfully groan-worthy. For example, Sam’s quip “Piece of cake” after dispatching a goon near an unseen dessert felt more like an awkward pause than a punchline. Visually, the film is over-polished—everyone looks too bright and airbrushed—yet the supposedly luxurious mansion settings come off as cheap and generic. Even minor details, like Sam’s cover story about designing feline award plinths, fail to add charm or credibility.
Most damagingly, the film shows utter indifference to its characters. Aside from Sam, who is painted as a selfish and unreliable friend, everyone else feels like a cardboard cutout. The hinted romantic tension between Sam and Betsy is abandoned without development. The chemistry between Wilson and Camp, despite their previous collaboration in Pitch Perfect, is notably absent. Characters casually sing together while being held hostage and ignore basic survival instincts, stripping any sense of urgency or realism from the story.
Ultimately, Bride Hard disappoints both as a comedy and an action movie. Its missed opportunities and shallow characterizations leave viewers wishing they could RSVP “no” to this chaotic party.
