NAKED

US, 2017, 96 minutes, Colour.
Marlon Wayans, Regina Hall, Dennis Haysbert, J.T.Jackson, Scott Foley, Eliza Coupe, Brian Mc Knight, Loretta Devine.
Directed by Michael Tiddes.

Marlon Wayans does spend an amount of this film naked but that is part of the joke rather than anything lewd.

The film is based on a Swedish comedy, Naked, 2012. And, as audiences will quickly realise there is a great deal of the influence of Groundhog Day which was also used as a basis for the horror film, Happy Death Day).

Wayans portrays a sympathetic time teacher of English literature at a prep school, Rob, but has not made final decisions for his life. His fiancee is a well-qualified doctor, Regina Hall. Her father, a very successful businessman, has no time at all for Rob and wants to sabotage the wedding. In the background are the fiancee’s former boyfriend, Scott Foley, who is unmasked as trying to get vengeance on her father by undermining and taking over his business as well as Eliza Coupe as a very jealous former date who concocts a scheme to humiliate Rob but is exposed.

Rob’s friend takes him out the night before and he wakes naked in another hotel, trapped in an elevator, making way his way through a crowd, difficulties in the street, trying to get some kind of cover, running in a marathon. There are numerous returns to his original day, becoming more familiar with the characters that he meets, finding strategies to overcome the difficulties of getting to the wedding, making phone calls, getting some clothes, involved with two friendly police, some bikies, gradually building up a scenario where he gets to the wedding, his father-in-law rejects him, his fiancee puzzled, also the priest. Further complications include getting the reprinted programs, overhearing marriage vows texts, getting some ideas and failing.

Eventually, Rob has to come to terms with himself, make a decision about his future job teaching, get to the church on time; he is able to talk to his father-in-law and expose the takeover, the father-in-law melting and giving his daughter her mother’s wedding ring for the ceremony. And, the vicious ex-girlfriend is exposed and arrested.

Which means that the film can end with the first dance, Rob becoming expert at tango, a whole range of people from the groundhog days turning up for the celebration.

One of the better comedies from Marlon Wayans, some silliness as usual, but, he is more engaging and the film capitalises on the groundhog day conventions.