Lazy, limp and lewd, The Wedding Ringer is Kevin Hart’s most annoying effort yet

KEVIN Hart and Josh Gad stink it up in a sub-par goof-fest, cobbled together from second-hand ideas and third-rate gags.

The Wedding Ringer (M)

Director: Jeremy Garelick (feature debut)

Starring: Kevin Hart, Josh Gad, Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting.

Rating: *

Hold your nose and say “I don’t.”

Approximately 95% of the lazy new American comedy The Wedding Ringer is as funny as a fart in a lift.

And that lift is located in a baked beans factory.

And the cafeteria in that factory serves nothing but cabbage.

That’s how much this movie can really stink when it really lets rip.

From start to finish, this sub-par goof-fest is cobbled together from second-hand ideas and third-rate gags.

No LOLs ... Doug (Josh Gad) and Jimmy (Kevin Hart) in a scene from film The Wedding Ringer. Picture: Supplied

Kevin Hart (Ride Along) plays Jimmy, a boisterous best-man-for-hire who makes many a buck as the go-to dude for bridegrooms who haven’t got a friend in the world.

The latest recipient of his services is Doug (Josh Gad), a sweaty, chubby, needy and deep-pocketed type who needs Jimmy’s services badly.

Lazy ... Kevin Hart and Josh Gad. Picture: Supplied

Doug doesn’t just need a best man. He also has to rent a troop of groomsmen, all of whom are on the Jimmy payroll. If there’s any slip-up, Doug’s bride-to-be (Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting) will realise she’s about to marry a loser and call the whole thing off.

While this isn’t the kind of premise destined to draw Oscars screenplay heat, it could have had a little crowd-pleasing potential in the right hands.

Instead, any life or laughter to be found in this tale is quickly snuffed out by ugly put-downs of gays, females, the elderly and anyone else who doesn’t fit this abnormal movie’s concept of “normal”.

Imagine Bridesmaids without the women, the wit or the willingness to serve up anything fresh, and you’re in the rubbish-strewn ballpark of what The Wedding Ringer has in store.

And if you already not into Hart’s polarising brand of quick-talking smart-assery, rest assured this is his most annoying effort yet.