Wedding Crashers

The Frat-Pack, are surely the hardest working collective in Hollywood. Hardly a month goes by without a movie featuring Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Jack Black, Will Ferrell, or those Wilson boys Luke and Owen being released.

When Starsky and Hutch paired Owen Wilson and Ben Stiller it was good, when Dodgeball put Vince Vaughn with Ben Stiller it was better, but "Wedding Crashers" could well be the finest Frat-Pack pairing to date.

Although Wilson and Vaughn have appeared in four movies together so far, this is the first where they've both taken star billing. In "Wedding Crashers", John Beckwith (Wilson) and Jeremy Klein (Vaughn), are a pair of divorce mediators whose passion in life is sneaking into weddings to take advantage of the free food.. and of course score with girls.

They have a strict 'crashers rulebook', which dictates the etiquette of the pick-up, such as 'never use your real name'. It also suggests, by behaving raucously, loudly and generally being the life-and-soul, people will think you're so obnoxious, you can't not have been invited.

The pair eventually find themselves at odds with each other when John meets and falls for a bridesmaid at the Washington society wedding of the year.

Although "Wedding Crashers" is at times formulaic, the comic performances raise this movie above par and in lesser hands the main characters could have descended into Rom-Com cliché. The fast-talking machine-gun delivery of Vaughn is the perfect accompaniment to Wilson's laconic style. Their single-guy banter's often painfully accurate, as is the acknowledgement they're both a little too old to be acting so carelessly. There are also some great comic set-pieces too, notably the divorce meeting, the weddings montage, the cringe-worthy football game and the hunting trip.

The supporting cast are also an asset, Christopher Walken expertly walks the tightrope of being both broodingly intimidating and likable, while Rachel McAdams' 'Claire' has a charming vulnerability and an easy-to-fall-in love with quality. Former "Home and Away" pin-up Isla Fisher however, is less convincing.

I admit "Wedding Crashers" is far from perfect, at time situations seem too contrived, the nudity is laughably gratuitous, and Claire's evil fiancée Sack (Bradley Cooper) is an almost too heavy-handed device to make Wilson look good.

But if you can look past all that, and simply accept it for what it is, you're left with a very funny film. 8/10

John Beckwith (Owen Wilson) and Jeremy Grey (Vince Vaughn) are business partners and best friends. They have a unique scheme to crash weddings and bed unsuspecting young hot women. When they crash the wedding of the season, John falls completely for bridesmaid Claire Cleary (Rachel McAdams) breaking all the rules. Jeremy must submit to her sex-crazed sister Gloria Cleary (Isla Fisher) as his loyal wingman.

The concept is great. Some of the jokes work but some really don't. This movie rises with the guys' chemistry. Vaugh's got the manic rantings, and Wilson's got the boy next door charm. Together they form the perfect bromance. And that is the big takeaway from this movie.

An excellent comedy, Vince Vaughn is a gifted comedian. He kept "Old School" going, was the only light in a dismal "Mr. and Mrs. Smith", and had a terrific debut lead in "Swingers". I highly recommend people considering this movie, to watch the extras on the DVD; there is a karaoke scene at an Asian wedding which will have you rolling. It is a shame it was cut from the movie, but as the director's comments stated, "They just couldn't find a place where it would fit." I was very pleasantly surprised at the number of times I laughed out loud, a rarity for me while watching comedies. The lines were witty, the delivery was crisp, and the jokes were mostly new and fresh. Rachel McAdams was stunning, an excellent casting choice to play the object of Owen Wilson's desire. Despite the more or less rehashed plot (two guys lie about themselves to meet women, only to find that they now have a dilemma when they find 2 they really like), the film is nonetheless novel and original. There are a number of obviously stereotypical characters, (drunken grandmother, artistic introverted son, psychotic cheating boyfriend, immoral mother, powerful father), but they work in this film. Particularly the grandmother, who is prone to drunken scatological exclamations, had me laughing my head off. It was quite unexpected.

Although many of the situations could come off as contrived, they were secondary to the excellent repartee between Wilson and Vaughn. Their comic pairing worked to a T.

R.

This movie will never win an Oscar, but it still surprised me and became my favorite summer movie this year. The plot, as in all good summer comedies, is simple. Two guys who crash weddings to pick up woman have zany adventures and learn a little something along the way. The real fun of this movie is in the actors, who deliver their performances perfectly. Owen Wilson is the aging California surfer type who may be ready to move on with his life. Vince Vaughn is his best friend who frequently acts like a spoiled, horny child but is actually a good guy. Christopher Walken is the slightly scary father of the love interest. So if you have seen Wilson in Shanghai Noon and Vaughn in Swingers and Walken in, well almost anything he has ever made, then you have seen these characters before. But still, they just work well together here. The movie contains just enough real emotion to keep you caring and enough absurdity and broad physical comedy to keep you laughing. This isn't Shakespeare, but it is funny. Highly recommend.

John Beckwith (Owen Wilson) and Jeremy Grey (Vince Vaughn) are life-long friends who have made a hobby out of lying to get into wedding receptions, where they pick up vulnerable women with even more lies. Their plans to crash the upscale wedding of a high-profile politician (Christopher Walken) go awry when John falls in love with the politician's daughter (Rachel McAdams) and the two guys end up spending the weekend with her family…who just happen to be completely nuts!

Wedding Crashers is easily the funniest film of 2005. It's constantly hilarious and it's not completely immature. The premise is pretty creative and original. The film is not just filled with cheap jokes and toilet humor. There's actually a pretty mature love story to be found here as well. In all honestly, the script isn't that great but the film works really well because of the cast. The actors bring life into their characters and most of them give funny performances. Vince Vaughn is the true star of Wedding Crashers. His over the top performance is very funny. Some people may find him annoying though. Owen Wilson also gives a funny performance. He just wasn't as good as Vince but he holds his own. Together, Vaughn and Wilson have great chemistry and really make their scenes with one another really funny.

Rachel McAdams is one of the best young actresses working today. She appeared in three movies in 2005 and this one was the best. Her performance is pretty good and it's so easy to love this girl. Christopher Walken does his usual routine and he gives an okay performance. He isn't as funny as everyone else though. Isla Fisher is also another talented young actress. She comes out of no where and gives a very funny performance. Jane Seymour is underused which is too bad because she's pretty funny. Bradley Cooper was okay, nothing really special though. Not all of the film is perfect. I think the running time is too long. Long comedies rarely work out and while this one does, it could have still been edited. Also, the ending is kind of cheesy which is okay but a little unexpected. Will Ferrell makes a cameo and let's just say that it was not needed. It wasn't completely bad but he seemed to be trying way too hard. I really think that he's just an average comedian and nothing really special. One last thing, the film is pretty funny yet it doesn't have that great of a repeat value, at least for me. In the end, Wedding Crashers is worth checking out. Rating 8/10