Paul Feig is known for a number of female-focused comedies that have resulted in varying degrees of success. While it’s debatable how funny each of his films has been, one thing most people can agree on is that Bridesmaids is his funniest film to date. Bride Hard has very little connection to Paul Feig or Bridesmaids, but it’s essentially what happens when a late-night talk show writer tries their hand at what could easily be a Paul Feig film.
Bride Hard is a play on a wedding and the movie Die Hard. Unfortunately, even the name doesn’t make sense considering John McClane (Bruce Willis) was a cop, and the main character in Bride Hard, Sam (Rebel Wilson), is a government spy. When her childhood friend’s wedding goes awry, thanks to an invading mercenary group (working for a drug cartel), she must use her special skills to save the day.
Table of Contents
Comedy
Comedy is very subjective. A number of people in the theater were laughing regularly, while I remained stone-faced the entire film. I am not the target audience for this film, but I can certainly appreciate a good movie, even when I’m not the audience for it. That is not the case with Bride Hard. If you can still watch a lackluster 90s era comedy and laugh throughout, you may enjoy the dated comedy in Bride Hard. If you expect a little more from a comedy in 2025, there’s a good chance your laughter will be limited.
Most of the jokes in Bride Hard rely heavily on Rebel Wilson’s not-so-unique brand of comedy. When she’s part of an ensemble cast or joined by many other comedians (Bridesmaids, Jojo Rabbit, Pitch Perfect), she has good comedic timing and works well with the others. In Bride Hard, she is the primary focus in almost every scene, and that is not a recipe for fun.
Action Sequences
It’s easy to tell when a stunt double was used in Bride Hard. Rebel Wilson is a bit more slender than she used to be, but she’s very clearly not into doing her own stunts. This makes the action sequences lean more toward Austin Powers rather than James Bond. They are poorly shot, unconvincing, and lack the impact to really sell each scene.
If Bride Hard was going for a very over-the-top vibe like Austin Powers, the action sequences wouldn’t be too bad. Instead, the film attempts to take itself seriously for the most part, while offering action sequences that often feel straight out of Looney Tunes. If the film had leaned all the way in on the “so ridiculous it works” theme, they might’ve had something, but the movie takes itself far too seriously for that to work.
Acting
Rebel Wilson plays her normal role, so you should already know what to expect from her. Anna Camp, Anna Chlumsky, and Stephen Dorff are all capable of stellar performances. They try their best in Bride Hard, but the lackluster script isn’t doing them any favors.
It doesn’t help when the movie goes off the rails toward the end, and nonsensical decisions overrule any attempt at decent acting. At the very least, they do look like they had fun filming the movie, even if the end result isn’t worth the price of admission.
The Final Verdict
Bride Hard has a very specific audience. It is squarely aimed at young and old women who just want to sit in a theater and turn their brains off for two hours. For anyone else, it’s background noise at best, and nearly unwatchable at worst. If you’re a big fan of Rebel Wilson, she may be enough to keep you engaged, but otherwise, this one isn’t worth your time.
About “Bride Hard”
Synopsis: When a mercenary group takes a lavish wedding hostage, they have no idea what they are in for as the maid of honor is actually a secret agent ready to rain hellfire upon anyone who would ruin her best friend’s wedding.
Director: Simon West
Writers: Cece Pleasants, Shaina Steinberg
Cast: Rebel Wilson, Anna Camp, Anna Chlumsky, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Gigi Zumbado, Justin Hartley, Sam Huntington, Stephen Dorff
Rated: R
Runtime: 1 Hour, 45 Minutes
Releases: June 20, 2025
Bryan Dawson has been writing professionally since the age of 13. He started his career as a video game writer and has since worked for Random House, Prima Games, DirecTV, IGN, AOL, the British Government, and various other organizations. For GNN, Bryan taps into his passion for movies.
- Bryan Dawsonhttps://geeknewsnetwork.net/author/bdawson1/
- Bryan Dawsonhttps://geeknewsnetwork.net/author/bdawson1/
- Bryan Dawsonhttps://geeknewsnetwork.net/author/bdawson1/
- Bryan Dawsonhttps://geeknewsnetwork.net/author/bdawson1/
