Dir. David Dobkin, 2005, US, 119 mins
Cast: Owen Wilson, Vince Vaughn, Rachel McAdams, Christopher Walken, Isla Fisher
Review by Richard Badley
With Owen Wilson now Stiller-less since last year’s Starsky & Hutch the drawling Texan is in need of a sparring partner. Enter Vince Vaughn, carefully lured away from the dull stabs at serious acting he struggled with during the 90s and already welcomed to the new wave comedic fraternity after storming roles in the hits of Old School and Dodgeball, finding his niche as slobbish but likeable loudmouths. Honing his Trent persona from his breakthrough performance in Swingers, Vaughn has toughened him up and in Wedding Crashers pulling women is no longer just for fun, it’s a sport, with an endless set of rules and regulations as the covert duo hunt their prey.
John Beckwith and Jeremy Klein (Wilson and Vaughn respectively) gatecrash weddings, spectacularly. The two divorce counsellors go in armed, knowing their territory and backing up their ruse with fake identities that would have James Bond crying into his Martini. Always bedding their targets (namely attractive, single females) the pair live the rollercoaster of partying and meaningless sex until the hopeless romantic Wilson begins to have doubts. When he meets Claire (McAdams) at a ritzy event hosted by the all-powerful Senator Cleary (Walken) he refuses to let the fact she has a boyfriend stop him from finally finding true love. Meanwhile Vaughn beds another Cleary daughter, the fiery Gloria (Fisher) but is dismayed that he must accompany Wilson, and the clinging Gloria, on a weekend to the family’s home so his wingman can get a moment with Claire.
After the initial salvo of the boys at work the story steers dangerously close to Meet the Parents territory with Walken as the scary patriarch everyone has to impress but the veteran actor places himself firmly at the back, having learned from his more grotesque comedic attempts in the flops of Envy and The Stepford Wives. Walken is best seen and not heard in these situations and lets the Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid of comedy blaze through every situation. Vaughn battles through like a horny energiser bunny laying down classic pearls of wisdom; “did you motorboat ‘em?”, while Wilson’s crooked Prince Valiant defines a new subzero temperature as he plumbs the depths of cool.
After the token brutal family sports game and sticky situations at the dinner table it’s Wilson’s story that remains the focus while any unfortunate physical slapstick befalls Vaughn, who carries it all off with limitless enthusiasm. While some films build their plot around several key set-pieces director Dobkin always makes sure the story itself is developing. Previously working with Wilson on Shanghai Knights, he makes it the classic buddy movie and if any diversion is needed from the rather clichéd love story he isn’t afraid to throw in some profanity or naked flesh. With the plot coming from a male perspective the audience is spared the gushing emotions that are instead signposted by the odd Coldplay song in order to keep the banter between the two leads at a careful simmer. The comedy never boils over yet it never goes cold, an impressive feat for its solid two hours, sometimes mired with funny yet pointless scenes such as the vindictive ‘Quail Hunt’. Spielberg brought the world to its knees in less time.
A rom-com that’s big on com, Wedding Crashers bristles with a fresh look at bachelorhood. Its message is not the most noble; sleep with enough women and you’re bound to find one to stick with, but the familiarity and effortless charm displayed by Wilson and Vaughn mean you can’t help rooting for them. With even Home & Away’s Isla Fisher soaking up some of their edgy humour and the king of comedy Will Ferrell swaggering in as icing of a particularly delicious cake this never feels like a forced occasion, more a rolling extension of the debauched stag night.
