Samantha Dooly (Rebel Wilson) is a world-class secret agent who can usually be counted on to get the job done. However, she doesn’t really know how to work well with others, preferring to handle missions on her own. Her childhood best friend of over 30 years, Betsy (Anna Camp) doesn’t know what Sam really does—she tells people she’s a “cat entrepreneur”, designing plinths for cat shows, and no one seems to question it. Betsy is getting married, and has asked Sam to be her maid of honor.

Sam arranges the bachelorette party around her upcoming mission in Paris, but the timeline gets pushed up and she’s forced to bail on the party with her BFF, Betsy’s college friends, and her future sister-in-law. Sam’s absence doesn’t go unnoticed and Betsy demotes her to just a regular bridesmaid—and possibly doesn’t even want her at the wedding at all. To make matters worse, Sam’s attempts to go rogue on the mission also backfire, and she’s ordered to take a break. With some insistence from her handler Nadine (Sherry Cola), Sam goes to the wedding, which is taking place at Betsy’s future in-laws’ winery/plantation on a private island in Savannah.

The ceremony is interrupted by a couple dozen mercenaries with guns, who are after the gold that’s locked away in the family’s safe, but due to the safe’s elaborate nature, it’s going to take some time to unlock. Sam wasn’t at the ceremony when things went down, so she isn’t tied up with the other guests, and the mercenaries don’t even know that she’s there. So she utilizes her skills, and starts roaming the property, taking out the bad guys one-by-one. Leader Kurt (Stephen Dorff) grows more and more frustrated with this mystery guest ruining his plans, and has his men hunt Sam down. However, if Sam is going to save the day, she is going to need to accept that she can’t do everything on her own, and will need to enlist the help of Betsy and her friends.

I first saw Bride Hard in the theater and quite enjoyed it—everyone was laughing out loud, and I couldn’t understand the negative reviews it received. It’s not a movie to take too seriously, it’s just a wild, fun ride, and a solid action-comedy. Yes things get a bit absurd and ridiculous at times (the final showdown is completely over the top), but that’s what makes it so fun. I have always been a fan of Rebel Wilson, and this film really embraces her brand of humor. Wilson delivers on the physical comedy, and has some really funny lines. She also proves to be quite the action star—there are some exciting fight/action sequences (often with a bit of a comedic slant).

The rest of the film’s cast is stacked with so many great comedic talents. Among the other bridesmaids are the pregnant Zoe (Gigi Zumbado) and her whipped husband Dave (Remy Ortiz); sex-crazed Lydia (Da’Vine Joy Randolph) who’s determined to get with Reverend Tom (Kristian Kordula); and future sister-in-law Virginia (Anna Chlumsky) who’s jealous of Sam and wants to be the maid of honor herself. The wedding party also includes Betsy’s father Frank (Michael O’Neill), groom Ryan (Sam Huntington) and Best Man Chris (Justin Hartley)—there’s a fun rom-con style meet cute between Sam and Chris, before the film goes in a different direction. Stephen Dorf is both frightening and fun as the leader of the terrorists, and Colleen Camp is hilarious and steals the scene as the often drunk mother-in-law to be Diane. Sam’s CIA support team is also made up of some great character actors, including David Lengel and Mark Valley.

Magenta Light Studios has released Bride Hard has been released on Blu-ray, DVD and digital. The video presentation is very good, with a generally clean and clear image, and rich colors and solid detail throughout. I only noticed one short moment of banding in the dark blue sky when the terrorists initially arrive at night. The audio presentation on the other hand was a bit disappointing. The disc offers both a DTS 5.1 track and a Dolby 2.0 stereo track. The former is primarily focused on the front/center channel and I didn’t really even notice any use of the surround. In fact, when I switched to the stereo track it actually sounded a bit fuller. But neither track really gave an immersive feel.

The Blu-ray disc is barebones, with no bonus material or trailers, just offering the subtitle on/off and version selection on the main menu. Though the film itself does have some outtakes during the end credits. The disc is packed in a standard HD keepcase, and our review copy did not include a slipcover.

What’s Included:

Film (1:44:49):

• 1080p / Widescreen 1.78:1
• Audio: English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, English 2.0 Dolby Digital Stereo
• Subtitles: English SDH

Extras:

No bonus material.

Final Thoughts:

Bride Hard is a blend of rom-com and zany comedy like Bridesmaids mixed with the action of Die Hard. Overall, I found Bride Hard to be a really fun and entertaining film. It’s not a deep, thought-provoking film that’s going to win critic awards—just turn off your brain for a couple hours and enjoy the wacky comedy and exciting action sequences. It’s a nice blend of genres, with a wonderful cast, led by the hilarious Rebel Wilson. I was a little disappointed by the Blu-ray presentation—while the picture looks great, the audio is a bit lackluster, and there is no bonus material to be found. That said, the film is still worth checking out, especially for Rebel Wilson fans, or fans of the rest of the cast.