Grade (A)
A classic comedy that delivers tons of memorable, albeit adult themed jokes.
With many recent comedies being hit-or-miss when it comes to entertainment value sometimes you just need to go back and enjoy one of the classics. It’s been more than ten-years since “Wedding Crashers” was released in cinemas and it’s still as hilarious as it was back then.
This film boasts a fun cast headlined by Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson. Supported by Christopher Walken, Rachel McAdams, Isla Fisher, Bradley Cooper and Jane Seymour.
For John Beckwith (Wilson) and Jeremy Grey (Vaughn) relationships basically consume their lives. For work they serve as divorce mediators, and during the summer season they moonlight at random weddings to hook-up with vulnerable women. Their life is perfect, and both are happy until John begins to question the ethics of their actions as he feels life slipping by. This is compounded when he falls for Claire Cleary (McAdams) at a luxurious wedding and manages to get he and Jeremy invited to the Cleary residence for the weekend on the Maryland coastline. Jeremy is hesitant to say the least, but he is convinced when John insists it’s to spend time with the possible girl of his dreams.
“Wedding Crashers” is one of those comedies that never get old in my opinion. A lot of films in the genre that aim for the sexual humor often termed as ‘raunch-com’s’ revolve around some kind of high-school or college dorm theme but the wedding crashing aspect of this plot was excellent. It felt fresh and we have all been to weddings so the films situations (for the most part) are easy to relate to. The script takes you to a series of weddings as the duo of Wilson and Vaughn work their way through single women until the locations shift to the posh coastal residence where the hi-jinks continue to ramp up in hilariousness.
Regardless of the course this plot takes, the true selling quality of this film is the chemistry between Wilson and Vaughn. Their interactions with one another are similar to many male friendships, and their back-and-forth’s provide plenty of laughter throughout. Vaughn however was truly the comedic catalyst in this film delivering a slew of memorable lines that will have you in hysterics.. In my opinion what Vaughn did was take already solid comic writing and elevated the dialogue to new levels of amusement with his delivery, using tone, pacing, and physical humor to entertain throughout. This was one of his best performances and it never gets old watching his style of comedic expression as he conveys this character.
Strong supporting characters also carry this film along in enjoyable fashion. Bradley Cooper was hilarious as the uptight and seemingly, by-the-book boyfriend and Isla Fisher was fun to watch as the neurotic sister. Christoper Walken and Jane Seymour also had their moments sprinkled in as well. These supporting characters enabled moments of comedy throughout while the script did its best to stick to the traditional love story. Rachel McAdams was solid in her performance although the script kept her very singular and strict to the course of the main love interest. Owen Wilson had his moments as well and did deliver some good laughter but nothing to the extent of Vaughn.
Vaughn’s focus on comedic delivery while Wilson’s dialogue was (at times) heavy on the love story, worked for this one resulting in a romantic-comedy feel, that provided enough laughter to carry the pace of the long run-time. The writers did an excellent job with the dialogue, but also as they told the story they kept the comedy coming from many angles to keep your interest. You really do not know what will happen next and the intrigue stays high. Wilson and Vaughn prove to be an excellent duo, and despite Vaughn carrying a lot of the load, their chemistry always entertains in this one.
This adult-themed comedy never gets old and delivers tons of memorable lines and situations. The characters are very likable, and when usually a two-hour run-time would kill a film of the genre, this one manages to easily pull you through it. It still holds its replay value, and is a must see for anyone who hasn’t already (if you don’t mind some sexually heavy themes). If you have seen it, do so again, and laugh all over.
Time: 119 min
MPAA Rating: R (For sexual content/nudity and language)