The story of The Honeymoon: When a wedding goes sideways
The Honeymoon opens with the kind of setup that feels ripe for comedy: Adam (Pico Alexander) is marrying Sarah (Maria Bakalova), and his childhood best friend Bav (Asim Chaudhry) is supposed to be the responsible best man. Except Bav isn't responsible. He's the opposite of responsible. When the wedding itself doesn't go according to plan—and Bav's role in that disaster is... significant—the groom somehow agrees to let his disaster-prone friend tag along on the honeymoon to Venice. What could possibly go wrong? Everything, as it turns out. Once in Italy, the couple finds themselves contending not just with Bav's constant intrusions, but with Lucas Bravo's charming Italian gangster, who decides Sarah is exactly the person he wants to pursue. It's a premise built on escalating complications, the kind where each scene is supposed to pile on more absurdity than the last.
Behind the making of The Honeymoon: Dean Craig's romantic comedy gamble
The Honeymoon was written and directed by Dean Craig, the screenwriter behind Death at a Funeral (the 2007 British original) and Love Wedding Repeat, so there's established pedigree here in the romantic-comedy-with-chaos space. The film brings together an international cast and crew, shot across Italy, the United States, and South Africa—a production scope that reflects the story's globe-trotting honeymoon setting. Pico Alexander carries the lead role as Adam, while Maria Bakalova (who garnered significant attention for her role in Borat Subsequent Moviefilm) plays Sarah. Asim Chaudhry rounds out the central trio as the well-meaning but perpetually bumbling Bav, with Lucas Bravo—best known for Emily in Paris—taking on the role of the gangster with unexpected charm. The film is rated R and runs 97 minutes, a lean runtime that suggests Craig was aiming for snappy pacing. The 2022 release landed during a period when streaming platforms were hungry for original comedies, and the ensemble cast suggested a project with real commercial ambitions.
What makes The Honeymoon stand out: Performance and premise collision
What's striking about The Honeymoon—and what makes it worth discussing despite its mixed reception—is the tension between what it's trying to do and what actually lands on screen. The premise itself isn't new: best-friend-ruins-honeymoon is a fairly well-trodden comedic path, and adding a romantic rival gangster to the mix feels like an attempt to stack enough plot momentum to carry the film. The performances, though, suggest the actors understood they were working with material that needed them to commit fully. Bakalova brings a grounded quality to Sarah that keeps her from becoming just a prize to be fought over, even as the script sometimes pushes her in that direction. Alexander plays Adam as genuinely torn between his bride and his oldest friend—a dynamic that could've been more interesting if the script had given it more room to breathe. Chaudhry, meanwhile, shoulders the heaviest comedic load as Bav, a character who's supposed to be lovable despite being fundamentally incompetent. That's a difficult balance to strike, and whether he succeeds depends largely on your tolerance for that particular brand of bumbling-friend comedy.
Honestly, the thing that doesn't quite work is the tonal whiplash. One moment you're watching a character-driven comedy about friendship and marriage, the next you're in a caper-style plot with a gangster subplot that doesn't quite integrate with the rest of the story. It's the kind of film where you can see the seams where different comedic sensibilities are trying to coexist. The R rating suggests Craig wasn't aiming for broad family appeal, but the comedy itself often feels caught between edgy and safe—never quite committing fully to either approach. Movie OTT tracks streaming availability across multiple platforms, and The Honeymoon's journey to viewers has been primarily through that digital route, which perhaps explains why the film has found a quieter life on streaming than it might have in theaters.
Where to stream The Honeymoon online
If you're looking to watch The Honeymoon, it's currently available on Prime Video. The film's release strategy leaned heavily on streaming from the start, making it accessible to viewers who prefer to watch from home rather than in a theater. Since streaming catalogs shift frequently, you'll want to check the Where to Watch widget at the top of this page to confirm current availability on Prime Video and any other platforms that may have picked it up. For those tracking where their favorite comedies live across the streaming ecosystem, movieott.com maintains an up-to-date database of which platforms are carrying which titles, so you can find The Honeymoon without hunting through multiple apps.
Frequently asked questions
Q: Who directed The Honeymoon?
Dean Craig wrote and directed The Honeymoon. He's known for his work on Death at a Funeral and Love Wedding Repeat, both romantic comedies that blend humor with ensemble casts and escalating chaos.
Q: Where can I watch The Honeymoon?
The Honeymoon is currently available on Prime Video. Check the streaming availability widget at the top of this page for the most current information about where it's streaming in your region.
Q: What is the runtime of The Honeymoon?
The film runs 97 minutes, making it a relatively lean comedy that moves at a brisk pace through its central plot of a honeymoon interrupted by friendship and unexpected romantic complications.
Q: Is The Honeymoon based on a true story?
No, The Honeymoon is an original screenplay written by Dean Craig. It's a fictional romantic comedy centered on the premise of a best friend crashing a honeymoon in Venice.
Q: What's the cast of The Honeymoon?
The film stars Pico Alexander as Adam, Maria Bakalova as Sarah, Asim Chaudhry as Bav, and Lucas Bravo as an Italian gangster. The ensemble also includes Flynn Allen, Kai Portman, and Orsetta De Rossi in supporting roles.
Final thoughts on The Honeymoon
The Honeymoon is the kind of film that works best if you're in the right mood for it—a lightweight comedy about friendship, marriage, and the chaos that erupts when those two worlds collide. It's not going to blow your mind. The IMDb rating of 4.1 out of 10 tells you that audiences haven't embraced it as a hidden gem, and that's fair. But there's something to be said for a film that at least tries to balance the emotional stakes of a new marriage with the comedic potential of a best friend who can't help but cause problems. If you're scrolling through Prime Video looking for something undemanding and vaguely romantic, it's worth a shot—just don't expect it to rank among the great comedies of the decade.
