Wedding Crashers a Pleasant Surprise
The movie follows the recent exploits of two ‘wedding crashers’, John (Owen Wilson) and Jeremy (Vince Vaugn). Once ‘wedding season’ (presumably spring) arrives, the couple makes their way to any wedding that they can find. There, they seduce love-hungry women (having just witnessed a romantic wedding), enjoy the food and fun, and eventually have a one-night stand.
We are treated to a montage of the crashers at 17 weddings, and we can see that they are pros. Afterwards, Jeremy has found the perfect wedding to finish the season with-the wedding of senator Cleary (played by Christopher Walken). John and Jeremy are the stars of the wedding, falling into the good graces of the large Cleary family, specifcally the two daughters (John’s love interest is Claire, played by Rachel McAdams of Mean Girls, and Jeremy’s is Gloria, played by Isla Fisher).
John finds himself falling in love with Claire, while Jeremy finds himself repulsed by the infatuous and youthful Gloria. Eventually, John and Jeremy find themselves staying with the Cleary family at a summerhome, and a series of hilarious mishaps ensue.
One of the most succesful things about Wedding Crashers is that it does not just fall prey to cheap humor. Yes, there is cheap humor, and it is absolutely hilarious, but there is also a soul to the movie that makes it memorable. The soul of the movie is the relationships among the characters. We do not just have the growing love story between John and Claire, but we have the growing conflict in the friendship between John and Jeremy.
Most romantic comedies have some dynamic like this, but it is rarely pulled off well. However, the actors in Wedding Crashers pump such realism and energy into their roles, that a couple scenes actually touched me. I daresay that were another pair of actors in this movie, it would not have had nearly as much ‘umph’ in the soulful scenes. Viewers will likely find themselves caring about what is going on, and in fact, the unpredictability of the movie makes for some light suspense.
Unpredictability is another strength of the movie. It’s plotline is unique, and the way the plot is carried out is somewhat unique. We know that although the characters are good guys at heart, and have good intentions with the Cleary family, the ‘bad guy’ will eventually reveal their secret. This is a given. However, the path that this movie takes after this prerequisite discovery is not the same as dozens of other movies.
I expected a short ‘aftermath’ montage, and then some romantic apology, followed by everything being unbelievably alright. The audience was thankfully treated with something more solid and memorable. The depth of the characters that was hinted at earlier is not just ignored, but strengthened, and the ending of the movie, no matter what it is, is satisfying and believable.
Wedding Crashers, a wonderful romantic comedy that manages to be touching and hilarious at the same time, gets 8 out of 10.
