WEDDING CRASHERS : Brilliant Movie, Minus 25 Excessive Minutes...

Rating: 8/10 (6 January 2006)

WEDDING CRASHERS
First off, Vince Vaughn is an incredibly talented comedian. Watching the films he makes now, it's amazing to think that he ever played a role like Norman Bates in the remake of PSYCHO. His rapid fire comedic ramblings have really helped drive him into being one of todays best screen comedians.
In this film, he is paired up with a game, if not as funny, Owen Wilson. THE WEDDING CRASHERS was one of the biggest comedy hits of this past year, and deservedly so. At times the film had a completely raunchy sense of humor akin to THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY and ANIMAL HOUSE, yet it maintains a gloss and intelligence throughout that I think sets it ahead of those movies.
I've always found SOMETHING ABOUT MARY and ANIMAL HOUSE to be incredible comedies, but flawed b/c they never grabbed me and made me care about the plot. WEDDING CRASHERS managed to play out a convincing love story while never losing it's wild edge.
Much credit belongs to Rachel McAdams for perfectly embodying the perfect girl in this film. She's gorgeous, approachable, fun, sexy, and a challenge all at once. I've yet to see THE NOTEBOOK and THE FAMILY STONE, but between this and MEAN GIRLS, it's obvious the girl is incredibly talented. Isla Fisher offers manic comedic support as her sister and has great chemistry with Vaughn.
The main problem I've read about the film is it's length... and it is indeed unnecessarily long. Basically, it was obvious how things would end up from the very beginning... and yet the film drags on for about 25 minutes too long in the end trying to create suspense.
In the end, this doesn't really add anything to the "love story" aspect. In fact, it lets the film drift too far into a corny place where it never should have gone. On top of that, I would like to note that throwing Will Ferrell and his over the top antics into a movie in the last 20 minutes is pointless, and kind of annoying. Ferrell is incredibly funny in the right context... here, he's a nuisance.
Also, some subplots and characters are severely underdeveloped. The weird brother and Jane Seymour's character showed up at random moments for blatant laughs, and they are funny. But they just seem to pop up whenever convenient... and in a comedy so well developed, their characters seem like mere plot tricks to conjure up a few more laughs.
Overall though, despite the length, the film maintained my interest and had me laughing harder than any other film has in a long time.
Best Moments - * The dinner table conversations * Vaughn tied to the bed * The opening wedding montage
Slightly flawed... but it's a comedy, not a perfect film. For what it aims to do, it nearly hits the bullseye. Unfortunately the director didn't leave Will Ferrell and the last 25 minutes and the editing room floor.
... B+ ...