Promising then weak

Rating: 4/10 (17 July 2005)

Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson are two very talented and skilled comic actors. Everyone should obviously know this when walking into see "Wedding Crashers". Yet, this movie proves that great actors can make weak movies despite their greatest efforts. The actors try extremely hard and generate a few good laughs, but the screenplay is the biggest problem here.
The concept of two sly men crashing weddings in order to seduce women is funny and worthy material for a feature film. Unfortunately, after a promising setup with Vaughn's trademark deadpan demeanor and Wilson's dependable and likable presence, the script fails them fatally. After the first half of this overlong comedy, we're set into a predictable and tired story of the two crashers arriving at the wedding of a women who is the daughter of the U.S. Treasury Secretary (Christopher Walken) They walk into the wedding sure of themselves, spouting off rules of wedding crashing to each other, and posing as very distant relatives in order to schmooze with the bridesmaids.
Wilson's character meets and quickly falls for Claire (Rachel McAdams) a sweet and smart sister-of-the-bride who is unfortunately dating a total jerk off who only serves the movie as a contrived plot point and an obviously forced obstacle to Wilson getting to her. Vaughn meanwhile meets and immediately has sex with her sister, a naive nymphomaniac who devotes herself completely to him.
The girls invite the two "gentlemen" over to their family's gigantic mansion for a weekend visit proceeding the wedding reception. The bulk of the movie takes place during this crazy weekend (which seems to last forever) where we have the awkward dinner scene, the cute bike ride in the country montage, terrible attempts at sex scenes, gay jokes, potty mouth granny jokes and the like. We even have the make-the-bad-guy-sick-to-his-stomach-by-spiking-his-wine bit.
The movie goes on for about two hours and within the time frame tries too hard to deliver laughs through lazy screen writing and old, corny romantic comedy formulas. Vaughn's performance is pitch perfect. Wilson carries himself very well. McAdams is wonderful and appealing. However, Walken is given such an underwritten and unfunny role that it's a real disappointment.
We do get some real laughs, not because they are well written bits, but because the actors deliver them hilariously. Will Ferrell makes an extended cameo towards the end of the film and it should be a saving grace, but ends up being something that should have dominated the film. It's the funniest thing in the movie, but you have to wait about an hour and forty five minutes for it. More focus is put onto the real lousy jokes, but the golden parts are few and far between.
"Wedding Crashers" is full of real talent we've come to depend on. Vaughn and Wilson make a terrific duo, but their clout as excellent actors is no excuse to saddle them with a lame and inconsistent screenplay.