Hilarious frat pack comedy

Rating: 8/10 (16 August 2005)

Given the level of success achieved by previous frat pack comedies like Old School, Dodgeball and Anchorman, it'd be easy to feel a little wary going into this film. Having provided us with so many comic moments that will surely be looked upon as classics in years to come, surely the time has come for Ben Stiller and his gang to deliver a dud amongst all the gems? Maybe it is, but 'Wedding Crashers' isn't it. In fact, this is one of the funniest offerings they've provided so far.
Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn take their turns at centre stage as two divorce mediators with cynical views of marriage that crash weddings in a bid to seduce girls already half-hypnotised by the romantic air. And their first on screen pairing together is tremendous fun to say the least. Wilson, normally accustomed to playing the dumb surfer dude is here a more realistic character; a hardcore but also intelligent party crasher questioning whether this sort of behaviour is befitting of someone his age. Watching his attempts to get together with Rachel MacAdams, a senator's daughter he has fallen in love with, he becomes hugely sympathetic despite his incredibly immature, roguish actions during the first thirty minutes.
Vaughn meanwhile is perfectly cast as Wilson's comic foil. His character is almost the exact opposite of the one he played in Dodgeball, the easy-going underdog charm replaced by a manic, motormouth lady killer. He spits out one liners so quickly, his rants on various aspects of relationships become increasingly difficult to keep up with and before you know it, you've missed many great lines simply because you're still laughing so hard at the other ones. Individually, the pair are both great actors, but together they provide a natural chemistry not unlike that of Laurel & Hardy, Wilson's laid back everyman charm perfectly offsetting Vaughn's misogynist arrogance.
The support from the rest of the cast has much to commend as well. Rachel MacAdams as Wilson's love interest is, to put it in it's most basic terms, stunning. She couldn't have put in a better performance as the senator's daughter and it's easy to see how Wilson could fall for her so easily. She is both intelligent, world wise and incredibly pretty as well, with the sort of smile that could light up a room.
Isla Fisher on the other hand offsets MacAdams much in the same way Vaughn offsets Wilson, the former Home And Away actress playing the demented younger sister that develops a crush on Vaughn and refuses to let go. She is at turns innocent and sweet, then deranged and perverse, yet handles all aspects of her character with ease and steals several scenes right out from under the other actor's noses. You have to give Fisher her dues that such an unrealistic persona could not only be entirely believable in her hands, but also very sympathetic and incredibly funny as well.
That isn't to say this film is perfect though. Christopher Walken remains an imposing presence, but never actually gets to do anything, despite early hints that he will clash with Vaughn in much the same way Robert De Niro and Ben Stiller collided in Meet The Parents. Plus, there is a third act cameo from Will Ferrell which promises much but delivers little, squeezing surprisingly few laughs out despite Ferrell's proved comic abilities.
Nevertheless, these are minor complaints in what is otherwise a riotously enjoyable comedy. There are no scenes as inherently stupid as Anchorman's newsreader gang war or Dodgeball's S&M uniform match, but the comic set pieces still deliver the goods and then some. One scene involving Vince Vaughn tied to a four poster bed and a potential homosexual rape from the senator's gay son is hysterically funny, whereas a football match in the first half is classic frat pack comedy. Despite the rapid succession of set pieces piled on top of each other though, there is still time for character development as well, Wilson and Vaughn's characters maturing as the film goes on and the end result is not only the most human comedy the frat pack have delivered thus far, but also one of the funniest as well.