Wedding Crashers

The Wedding Crashers invites you to join John (Owen Wilson) and Jeremy (Vince Vaughn) as they prepare for the upcoming wedding season. This most wonderful time of the year affords the two "boys" many opportunities for unattached sexual liaisons with women intoxicated by the atmosphere of love that reigns supreme at weddings. All is fun and games until their plot crashes and burns when John falls in love and Jeremy picks the wrong girl to leave.

From the start, it is clear that it is Vaughn who is being relied upon to carry the weight of the comedy. While Wilson has proven himself to be a worthy sidekick in comedy films such as Starsky And Hutch and Shanghai Noon, he has only embarrassed himself when given lead roles, as with The Big Bounce. Here, however, Wilson is a well cast contrast to Vaughn's quick-fire, character. He also fronts the film's romantic subplot with his believable romance with Claire (a stunning Rachel McAdams).

It is refreshing to see Vaughn as the butt of most of the film's jokes when he has made a career out of smooth, laidback everyman characters. We see him shot, beaten up, embarrassed, tied up and raped all of which fits him perfectly, as does Jeremy's trait of eating great quantities of food while simultaneously holding conversations.

The Wedding Crashers is, at heart, a frat film. As with Old School, these thirtysomething men think they are still teenagers, lying to women while lusting and partying their way through meaningless lives, their jobs a backdrop for their social adventures. Yet, The Wedding Crashers shows an awareness that this lifestyle is fun, but ultimately empty, and does not rely on slapstick, or nudity-based humour, to get a reaction from the audience.

Most of the typical frat movie scenarios are dealt with quickly in a montage at the beginning, allowing the majority of this comparatively lengthy comedy to focus on situational humour and the love story, which could easily have been the film's downfall, throwing the various couples together quickly and conveniently. The Wedding Crashers avoids this pitfall by taking its time, weaving through tension and morality to arrive at the classic over-the-top Hollywood climax.

There is a lull in the middle when director David Dobkin drifts away from comedy to focus on the romance. There are also moments of discomfort when John sinks into depression and becomes utterly humourless, although again this is lightened by Will Ferrell appearing in a cameo. While Christopher Walken does his duty as Claire's disapproving, yet understanding, father, his capacity for comedy is not explored to its full potential, which is disappointing.

The double act of Wilson and Vaughn will not be enjoyed by all, but there is a lot more fun to be had than just the childish antics of its lead characters. The Wedding Crashers has a romantic core that adds a touch of sentiment to the hilarity, setting it apart from the majority of comedies from the same congregation.