Good, but Should Have Been Better

Rating: 7/10 (15 August 2005)

"Wedding Crashers" has some laugh-out-loud funny scenes.
Vince Vaughn, as a hulking, earthy, wildman and Owen Wilson as a more thoughtful, cuter wildman, are winning and perfectly cast for the roles they play. Both charmed me, in different ways.
The premise -- sex-hungry playboys crash weddings in order to exploit women's sentimentality in order to have sex with them -- is really good, both goofy, for the sake of crazy movie scenes -- here are our boys pretending to be Jewish, Irish, and Chinese! and profound -- can casual sex be satisfying in the long haul? -- for the sake of a deeper theme.
I did laugh and smile and the naked breasts and obscene language that got so much play in the press didn't bug me too much.
It's just that, given the premise and stars of the caliber of Vaughn and Wilson, this movie could have really been a classic along the lines of "Some Like It Hot," and it isn't.
There is some sloppy editing, with joke's set-ups obviously missing, and dead scenes that could have been deleted. There is some very flat-footed direction.
The writing is pretty slack in places.
And the female lead is a complete blank slate.
Why not cast a female star with as much charisma as Owen Wilson? Why cast a non-entity? Why not write her some good lines? Why not give her something to do? Why not provide Owen Wilson with SOME reason for falling in love with her? After all, in a classic like "Some Like It Hot," Marilyn Monroe contributed as much to the film's impact as Jack Lemmon.
The movie's digs on women are often funny, but the filmmaker's inability to cast a strong female star or write for a female character is genuinely tragic, and weakened the film.
On a different topic: This movie is a treasure trove of clues about the Political Correctness Zeitgeist.
Vince Vaughn, after being aggressively pursued by a woman he has picked up, refers to himself as a "rape" victim, and compares himself to "Jody Foster in 'The Accused.'" There is a scene where a very creepy gay man takes advantage of a straight man being tied up in bed, and tries to sexually violate him.
In spite of the movie's homophobia, the only true love in the movie is that between its two male leads, Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson.