Review: Wedding Crashers (2005)

Directed by: David Dobkin | 113 minutes | comedy, romance | Actors: Owen Wilson, Vince Vaughn, Christopher Walken, Rachel McAdams, Isla Fisher, Jane Seymour, Ellen Albertini Dow, Keir ODonnell, Bradley Cooper, Ron Canada, Henry Gibson, Dwight Yoakam, Rebecca De Mornay, David Conrad, Jenny Alden, Geoff Stults

Weddings, you’ll love it. Endless speeches and plays, sniffling aunts and drunken uncles, desperately cheerful bridesmaids and the always captivating conversation topic of the wedding dress. And then we will not mention the music. The American comedy “Wedding Crashers” is about two bachelors who just love weddings and the bridesmaids who can be found there. And that actually makes for a nice movie.

In “Wedding Crashers,” we follow business associates John and Jeremy on their journey through weddings and their hunt for bridesmaids. The lies and smooth talk the duo sells to achieve this goal are often as witty as they are predictable. And that actually applies to the entire film. The humor is sometimes a bit rough, with a lot of physical jokes and fun, and the romantic side line has also been used before. This predictability applies even more to the twisted Cleary family, which appears to consist only of worn-out caricatures.

Still, “Wedding Crashers” has been quite successful. This is mainly due to the contagious cheerfulness of the whole. At no point does the film threaten to get really serious and it is completely unpretentious in a sympathetic way. Everything in “Wedding Crashers” is so wonderfully exaggerated that it’s easy to accept the lack of originality. In addition, the lightning-fast, orgasmic editing of the first wedding parties makes your blood flow a little faster so that you are immediately in the right mood.

The casting is also fine. The chemistry between Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn is just about perfect and the scenes they play alone turn out to be pedigree comedians too. Wilson’s fun-letter face and Vaughn’s macho head guarantee a few primordial moments. Christopher Walken as a doting father and the gorgeous Rachel McAdams as the adorable Claire Cleary are also perfect for their role, while the choice of Jane Seymour as a silicone-stuffed mother is surprising to say the least. And succeeded.

For example, “Wedding Crashers” will undoubtedly not go down as a modern classic, but as a very nice comedy. A lot of jokes, a lot of cheerfulness, a lot of cheerful music and then also a few weirdos that you would wish for at any wedding party. “Wedding Crashers” is undoubtedly less impressive than your own wedding, but a lot more fun than your average bridal party. And for lovers there are enough wedding dresses to talk about for a long time to come.