In all likelihood, the pitch for “Bride Hard” was “‘Bridesmaids’ meets ‘Die Hard,’” as it’s a smart shorthand for an easy sell. Audiences who’ve seen both films will instantly recognize the story beats in an innovative mash-up centered on a spy who must win back her friendship with a bride while also juggling wedding festivities that go sideways when mercenaries wreak havoc. Though a bit rough in its execution, made worse by janky visual effects in the third act, the film is buoyed by the gentle comedic charms of the ensemble, sweet thematic resonance and Jackie Chan-style stuntwork.
Sam (Rebel Wilson) and Betsy (Anna Camp) have been BFFs for more than 30 years — but maybe not forever, as fissures in their friendship are showing. Sam’s high-stakes job as a secret agent, working for an elite firm on classified missions, has taken priority over everything in her life. It’s even eclipsed her duties as Betsy’s maid of honor. Sam is trying hard to find balance in her double life though, hosting Betsy’s bachelorette party in Paris, while multitasking a sting operation mere blocks away. However, when bridesmaids Lydia (Da’Vine Joy Randolph) and Zoe (Gigi Zumbado) point out that Sam abandoned them for reasons unknown, Betsy appoints her abrasively high-strung future sister-in-law Virginia (Anna Chlumsky) as her maid of honor replacement.
Encouraged by her handler Nadine (Sherry Cola), a shame-spiraling Sam attends Betsy’s ritzy nuptials to goofy groom Ryan (Sam Huntington), traveling to a private island in Savannah, Ga., where she hopes to fix their problems. She quickly learns that her presence isn’t entirely welcome when she’s not included in the gals’ pre-ceremony spa treatments or their rehearsal dinner dance. But just as Sam is preparing to leave after butting heads with the bride, a group of gun-toting mercenaries led by tough guy Kurt (Stephen Dorff) descends on the property. The baddies are demanding valuables hidden in the family safe, roping wedding guests like Ryan’s hunky best man Chris (Justin Hartley) into the stressful situation. It then becomes abundantly clear Sam’s save-the-date has turned into a save-the-day mission.
Director Simon West and writers Cece Pleasants and Shaina Steinberg balance their comedically charged, over-the-top action sequences with a handful of poignancy, speaking to the tenuous tether of long-distance adult female friendships. They shrewdly layer in the notion that anyone can be a selfless hero — not solely the tough trained spy, but also tertiary characters like Zoe’s meek husband Dave (Remy Ortiz) and the bride’s war vet father Frank (Michael O’Neill). Sam’s epiphany that her self-sabotaging ways can be an asset in these stressful circumstances is well conceived, allowing her to gradually prove her worth to herself, her bestie and everyone else. Her inevitable happy resolution with Betsy, whose own wants crystalize throughout the course of the traumatic ordeal, feels earned, leading to a sincere, heartfelt finale.
Humor ranges from gentle to raunchy without much of a compass. Sam’s snarky quips when fending off villains’ advances are ribald and don’t land. The aftermath of Virginia’s clumsy tumble into a rose bed where her exposed cleavage is profusely pricked by thorns lasts for all of one scene. Colleen Camp, who produced the film and plays the groom’s honest-to-a-fault mother Diane, gets a few funny moments to shine. Still, it’s Randolph who’s given the funniest scene where she sings Khia’s filthy “My Neck, My Back (Lick It)” to her pregnant pal’s belly amid an audience of white, frazzled elites.
Although fast-ramping, shaky-cam visuals and choppy editing frequently hobble the inspired fight choreography, Sam’s character motivations always remain at the forefront of the big set-pieces, from the hot-curling iron nunchucks in the solarium to the firehose fight in the whisky room. Wilson exercises a newfound, assured confidence and muscular drive, punching and kicking baddies — a welcome change from the sort of cheap pratfalls she’s been subjected to in the past. Foreshadowing involving potential weapons, from the hard wax candle pillars to a conveniently placed cannon, tend to be clumsy, but the payoffs (seeing Sam spontaneously utilize the tools that are afforded her) elicit cheers.
Meanwhile, a few dangling threads threaten to unravel a portion of the film’s fabric, including Sam and Betsy’s childhood pact, which is only mentioned in passing, and Sam’s alleged food allergies, which never materialize when she eats the catered food. A slapdash climactic getaway proves too much of a challenge for the filmmakers, defying logic and our eyes. The plastic tube Sam and Betsy are seen gliding through to catch up with Kurt and his crew isn’t connected to anything, let alone a suction-driven motor. Plus, there’s a notable aesthetic disparity between the actors shooting their medium shots against a budget-conscious backdrop and the polished second unit work with the stunt team.
Despite its shortcomings, “Bride Hard” pairs nicely as a double feature with “Shotgun Wedding,” as the kindred spirits contain similar madcap hijinks and well-intentioned sentiments. It also hits a nostalgic sweet spot for audiences who dig those empty-calorie, boredom-beating “You’re a spy?!” features that have trickled off since their prominence in the 2010s (like “The Spy Who Dumped Me” and “This Means War”). Once all the toasts are made and the rice is tossed, “Bride Hard” proves an entertaining marriage of something borrowed (the plot) and something blue (some of the jokes).
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