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In the midst of cinema's constant repetitive landscape (especially in the
comedy genre), it's a joy to see an effort of originality. David Dobkin's
tale of hilarity sees the director re-team with Shanghai Knights star
Owen Wilson, and this time the crooked-nosed Texan has a superior
thespian to Jackie Chan as his partner: Vince Vaughn. The Frat Pack pair
play John Beckwith and Jeremy Grey respectively, two Washington D.C. single
lawyers who get kicks come the weekend by crashing weddings - the opening
impressive montage of the feature illustrates their wacky hobby perfectly.
Displaying smart methods of intrigue, mystique, wit, charm and intelligence,
the pair seldom fails in their mutual mission of seduction. By never
revealing who they really are or why they are present on such special
occasions, the duo mix motor-mouth aggression and sensitivity to achieve
their sole objective of bagging classy ladies without ever resorting to
homoerotic references for the sake of a cheap laugh. The last hurrah of one
particular summer however is the high-class Cleary extravaganza - possibly
the biggest challenge for the crashers yet.
The patriarch of the famous American family is a powerful Treasury Secretary
played by the marvellous Christopher Walken, Jane Seymour is the brilliantly
cougarish and boozed-up wife, Keir O'Donnell's son is the black sheep with
his sexually confused artistic tendencies, Grandmother Cleary is played
expertly by Ellen Albertini Dow (even if her Eleanor Roosevelt dialogue is
unnecessary for the continuation of the sound dinner scene), and Ron
Canada's butler Randolph is arguably the minor character of the whole film
simply for his "How much jam ya got man?!" enquiry whilst the Kennedy-loving
family and their two guests (John and Jeremy) are occupying their superb
mansion-on-an-island retreat.
The reason why our heroes have pursued this particular yacht club wedding
further than the ceremony and reception is because of Rachel McAdams' Claire
and Isla Fisher's Gloria, daughters of Walken's gullible yet politically
extremely successful father-figure. Jeremy and Gloria's adolescent and horny
romance plays second-fiddle to John and Claire's more profound love but both
couples are allowed adequate screentime to blossom. In actual fact, all four
lead characters are so well-suited to their alter-egos that one cannot
imagine them slipping into the opposite characters of the same sex - only
Wilson could have played the surfer-like, well-educated, and sincere
heartthrob, whilst Vaughn is perfect for the immature partygoer. The only
real opposition to our resident crashers aside from the fluctuating level of
suspicion amongst the family as to how they are related, is from Sack (an
outstanding Bradley Cooper), the arrogant boyfriend of Claire who has an
amazing appetite for success. His testosterone-fuelled, prep school ways are
absolutely first-class and justify the John/Claire finale faultlessly even
if Jeremy has to receive two "Sacked lunches" on the touch gridiron field.
Wedding Crashers is simply uproarious and it's certainly not a shock
to realise how successful a sleeper hit it was in 2005. Dobkin has infused
an authentic heartwarming aura in the picture which is all too rare nowadays
for cinematic releases - Meet the Parents (and to a lesser extent its
sequel) and Judd Apatow and his posse are the only real sentimental
merchants around post-2000. In addition, nostalgic parallels between Wilson
and Vaughn, and Butch and Sundance are accurate because of a certain
replication of the famous bike riding scene from George Roy Hill's 1969
film, and the blithe natural chemistry the two leads share. Add to the mix
Mr Will Ferrell in an utterly hilarious cameo as the creator of crashing
weddings (funerals is his new sick pastime by the way) and you have a
gloriously cohesive and highly amusing two hours.
The extras
The two commentaries on the disc are both good, but unsurprisingly the
comedy of Vaughn and Wilson's effort overshadows Dobkin's solo attempt.
Wilson's comments on groping Jane "Kitty Kat!" Seymour's breasts is
particularly funny. The Uncorked cut is approximately eight minutes longer
than the theatrical but nothing really important is included. Dobkin acts as
optional commentary for the four deleted scenes, but again it's quite easy
to see why they were excluded - the film is long enough. A real-life wedding
planner called Lovelynn Van Der Horst takes us through the twelve minutes of
Event Planning. This is a basic look at how the filmmakers created the
film's opening montage with the production of Jewish, Indian and Chinese
ceremonies. The Rules featurette (which is also in text form) outlines the
crashing rules and the two male leads are caught on top form here as they
explain the sacred code. A music video from The Sights, soundtrack listings,
and trailers round off the average package.
The summary
Crashing weddings is one addictive pursuit that can be enjoyed over and over
again. A feast of hilarity with a solid romantic core.
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