Genre: Comedy
Director: David Dobkin
Starring: Owen Wilson, Vince Vaugh, Rachel McAdams, Christopher Walken, Isla Fisher
RunTime: 1 hr 59 mins
Released By: Warner Bros
Rating: NC-16
Website: http://www.weddingcrashersmovie.com/crashthistrailer/

Release Date: 4 August 2005

Synopsis:

The outrageous comedy "Wedding Crashers" stars Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson as divorce mediators and lifelong friends who have never met a wedding they couldn't get themselves into. Guided by a secret set of wedding crashing "rules," the pair find their way into a different wedding and different bridesmaid’s heart every week. But when they crash the social event of the season, one of them falls for the engaged daughter (Rachel mcAdams) of an influential and eccentric politician (Christopher Walken) and decides to break the "rules" in pursuit of her. This leads to a wild weekend at her family’s palatial estate where the ultimate "Crashers" quickly find themselves in way over their heads.

Movie Review:

Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson each have made comedic hits in recent memory (Dodgeball, Shanghai Knights/Noon), so it's no surprise that one day they will team up, and the result is the rather enjoyable Wedding Crashers. The first few minutes, with the special appearance of Rebecca DeMornay, basically set the expectations that the audience will be in for one
riot of a time, with witty one-liners and Vaughn showcasing his classic monologue skills.

The premise of the story is innovating at first, with 2 best buddies having a shared hobby of inviting themselves to random weddings, in which they know of nobody and related to neither the groom or bride. Their mission? To free load on food, drink, and basically to enjoy themselves with the company of the attendees in a joyous festive setting. Of course, pretty girls whom they hook up with are the bonus of their gallivanting ways. Watching the duo put through
the paces of successful social engineering in a montage, although sometimes recycling their back stories, is pretty hilarious.

That is, until they decide to gatecrash into the wedding of a prominent politician's (Christopher
Walken) daughter, as the coup of all their successful gatecrashing attempts. And that's when their friendship and discipline in sticking within the rules of their game will be put to the test, especially so when Vaughn inadvertently deflowers the bride's virgin sister (Isla Fisher), and Wilson developing the hots for another sister (The Hot Chick's Rachel McAdams). And so we follow primarily the adventures of these characters' relationships.

Some may sense deja-vu in the second act of the film, in which our duo spends the weekend with the politician's family. Meet The Fockers anyone? But with dysfunctional and stereotyped family characters like the lusting mom, homosexual brother, cranky grandma, and the jock boyfriend and his gang, there is always room for totally crazy situational jokes. Look out for the dining room scene, which is almost guaranteed to have you in stiches, as will the two different bedroom
scenes Vaughn and Wilson experience with various family characters.

However, the third act of this almost 2 hour long film slows down the pace a bit too much. With themes like friendship, camaraderie and true love creeping in, the humour in the film gives way to some attempts at exploring the meaning behind not letting your friends down when they're out, and whether or not you truly know the person you're actually going to marry. But fortunately, all's saved by the appearance of Will Farrell, another comedian, in a short role as the founder of the Wedding Crashers mantra, who had moved on to different pastures (which I thought could have
spun off a sequel in itself), but still having the time of his life with his singular objective of sexual
conquests. The finale may sound a bit Jerry Maguire-ish, but lacing it with huge doses of humour
redeemed it.

Vaughn and Wilson each used their strengths, and played on each other's strong points too to bring across the excellent banter between their characters. Vaughn played his character Jeremy Grey to anal-retentive perfection, while Wilson's John Beckwith starts off as self-assuring, bordering on cockiness and brimming with over-confidence. It is of no surprise that they will encounter reversal of fortunes, and to witness how each character developed through the course of the film. The rules of their game, in which they throw about in attempts to justify their character actions, are as hilarious as they are probably helpful in real life, sort of like the tips
Hitch dispenses.

The humour's a mix of being witty, crude, slapstick at times, almost containing something for everyone. Wedding Crashers is a summer comedy that will bring you the smiles after a hard day's work, and probably will leave you wondering, if you can pull off a similar stunt like that in a wedding over here.

Movie Rating:

("Experience side splitting humour with the comedic pairing of Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn as Wedding Crashers")

Review by Stefan Shih