Not an instant classic, but very, very funny.

Rating: 7/10 (6 September 2005)

I never liked Owen Wilson. I think he is overrated, not funny, and usually just stinks up whatever film he is in, whether it is the already-bad I Spy or the well-done Shaghai movies with Jackie Chan. He was decent in the Meet the Parents movies, but because he had a small role. He is the main reason why I was not going to see this film. Plus, I knew nothing about Vince Vaughn at the time. After several weeks, several great reviews, and a ton of money and a ton of praise from audiences around the country, I finally decided to give it a try. This movie hands-down surprised me, I had no idea it was going to be this good. But, what ruins the film is what ruined Episode 3, made Fantastic 4 worse, and also what tainted Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. And also there was just too much Wilson, and certainly not enough Vaughn, who was certainly the funniest man in the movie.
Wedding Crashers is about two men who crash weddings to pick up women but their biggest challenge comes at one particular wedding in which Owen Wilson's character John falls in love, meanwhile Vince Vaughn's character Jeremy has trouble staying away from the latest person he made love to. What was supposed to be a one-wedding visit turned into a weekend stay with a popular secretary (Christopher Walken) and his not-so-normal family. Throughout the entire film, you see John try to woo the already-taken Claire (played by the beautiful Rachel McAdams) and you see Jeremy have trouble containing Gloria (Isla Fisher). The movie is just amazingly hilarious; I had no idea that it was going to be such a hoot. There are many reasons why the movie is funny, but there is one actor that steals the show, and that is Vince Vaughn.
Vince Vaughn has the best one-liners, the funniest moments, the best reactions, and also is the liveliest person on the screen. While Wilson kind of slows the movie and Walken does not put much effort into acting during this film, you see Vaughn get tied in bed, eat like a maniac, confess in a most hysterical way, and curse his way into one of the funniest performances I have seen in a very long time. The last time I saw someone steal an already funny movie from the first minute to the last minute is Jim Carrey back in 1994 when Dumb and Dumber came out. His scene in the dinner table just had everyone almost on the floor in laughter; it was so crude yet funny at the same time. This movie scores because it does not try too hard to be rater "R", it embraces the rating, by throwing every curse word at the right time, by applying the nudity only at the correct moments, and by sneaking in some of the most crude humor in films nowadays just as the film shows signs of slowing down. It did not try too hard to pass the PG-13 rating.
This movie was just doing so well for so long, and then decides to throw in some romantic elements into the film. What really makes me upset is when directors and writers try to add another element into the film, therefore making it worse than it should be. Action movies throwing drama (Transporter 2) or sci-fi action movies throwing pointless and pitiful romance (Star Wars: Episode 2) some films suffer from putting something else into the film that it really did not need. This movie did not need any romance or touching moments, throughout the first 80 minutes it was a fast-paced unpredictable comedy and during the last parts of the film it disintegrated into a slow-paced, sappy romance story that was literally saved by a spectacular cameo. Owen Wilson's depression just takes away the happy mood most of the audience felt throughout the first half of the film, and it just dragged, which is what kept this movie from being among the best comedies I have ever seen. At least the ending made up a bit for the sappy and pathetic moments. Maybe it was because I was watching it by myself, I don't know, but this film was going so well before slowing down almost to a halt. Nonetheless, this movie will make you laugh, and Vince Vaughn will catch your attention for sure, he truly surprised me.
Bottom Line: Excellent movie, but its dragging towards the end keeps it away from being among the funniest of all time, with the likes of Meet the Parents, Dumb and Dumber, Airplane, the Naked Gun movies, and some of the classic Mel Brooks films (not in any order). Wilson was not funny, but his partner, Vaughn certainly was. Superb performances by the lead females and also excellent job by the writers, who managed to throw in a lot of funny and silly moments throughout the first half of the film. The cast obviously had a blast making this film, and you will have a blast watching it. Wedding Crashers: join the party.
7/10