Could be the funniest Duo Ever. A Must See For Laughs
Although Wilson and Vaughn have appeared in 4 movies to date together, this is the first where they've both taken star billing. In this film, John Beckwith (Owen Wilson) and Jeremy Klein (Vince Vaughn) are a pair of divorce mediators whose passion in life is sneaking into weddings to take advantage of the free food, the party, wine, champagne, and of course the single women.
They have a strict wedding 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 of the party, people will think you are so obnoxious, you could not possibly have been invited to the wedding ceremony.
The dastardly duo eventually find themselves at odds with each other when John meets and falls for the bridesmaid Gloria Cleary (Isla Fisher-Confessions of a Shopaholic) at Secretary Cleary's Washington Estate society wedding of the year.
Although this film might be labeled formulaic, the comic performances raise this movie above par and in lesser hands the main characters could have descended into romantic comedy territory. 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 acknowledgment 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 as Secretary Cleary expertly walks the tightrope of being both broodingly intimidating and likable. Rachel McAdams, who play Claire Cleary has a charming vulnerability and an easy-to-fall-in love with quality. Isla Fisher's character is a bit over the top, however, convinces me that most spoiled daughters have nothing to do but believe in anything that walks and talks and looks good. Jane Seymour plays Kathleen Cleary, the half sex craved wife of the Secretary, who likes to have the attention from Vaughn's character from their first meeting. We can't possibly forget Randolph (Ron Canada) who shows us how tolerant he is with the crazy rich family he works for. The most hilarious scene of the film involves Randolph catching Gloria with Jeremy. It's quite funny to think that Gloria could actually charm this doltish Jeremy into some kind of love which is less likely to swallow as it was when he wanted to get away from her after their first intimate moment. The whole Todd Cleary (Keiv O'Donnell) characther was way too weird for this film and added additional insanity to the sub-plot.
The fact that he was gay and had a crush on Jeremy as well, painted a nude oil painting of him, and came to visit him in the middle of the night, didn't add much to the film. Let's just say that being the oddball in the family usually doesn't have to be displayed to everyone that comes over for dinner. The grandmother things was way too weird as well, yet laughable.
I admit the film is far from perfect, at time situations seem too contrived. Claire's nasty fiancée Zachary "Sack" Lodge (Bradley Cooper) is an almost too heavy-handed device to make Wilson look good, however it works.
Father O'Neil (Henry Gibson) was absolutely hilarious in this film, and added the exact touches to the craziness of Jeremy's thoughts while inebriated, showing us that we really shouldn't trust a priest.Read full review
