This page was created on June 18, 2005
This page was last updated on August 9, 2005

—Overview
—Photos
—About this Film
—Spiritual Connections

Dial up modems will take a few moments

Directed by David Dobkin
Written by Steve Faber and Bob Fisher

Cast (in credits order)
Owen Wilson .... John Beckwith
Vince Vaughn .... Jeremy Klein
Rachel McAdams .... Claire Cleary
Ellen Albertini Dow .... Grandma Mary
Jennifer Alden .... Christina Cleary
Summer Altice .... Chaz's Girlfriend
Betsy Ames .... Betty Cleary
Camille Anderson .... Jennifer
Diora Baird .... Vivian
Ivana Bozilovic .... Ivana
Bradley Cooper
Mim Drew
Carson Elrod .... Flip Cleary
Will Ferrell .... Chaz
Isla Fisher .... Gloria Cleary
Stephanie Nevin .... Janice
Keir O'Donnell .... Todd Cleary
John G. Pavelec .... Ken Cleary
Ned Schmidtke .... Frank Myers
Jane Seymour .... Kathleen Cleary

Produced by
Peter Abrams .... producer
Richard Brener .... executive producer
Robert L. Levy .... producer
Andrew Panay .... producer
Guy Riedel .... executive producer

Original Music by Rolfe Kent
Cinematography by Julio Macat
Film Editing by Mark Livolsi

MPAA: Rated R for sexual content/nudity and language.
Runtime: 119 min
For rating reasons, go to FILMRATINGS.COM, and MPAA.ORG.
Parents, please refer to PARENTALGUIDE.ORG

Wedding Crashers

Ok, now I understand why Wedding Crashers came out on July 15th, but wasn’t the number 1 movie until the weekend of July 30th. Critics didn’t care for the movie, but it appealed to the masses and word-of-mouth made the movie a hit.

I had not planned on going to see this movie, but a lot of different people told me I just had to see it. I had heard that it was pretty raunchy and really thought that maybe it was one of those movies where they went for shock value because they couldn’t produce a quality film.

Well, there was a lot of profanity, some minor nudity, and there was definitely sexually oriented scenes (sometimes fairly extreme), but there wasn’t anything that a mature adult couldn’t deal with. I would not recommend for a younger teen.

A couple of long time buddies have spent years perfecting the skill of crashing weddings to enjoy some really great food, dance, party with happy, and oh yeah, to score with girls who are on the emotional high generated from the wedding ceremony (and alcohol). We learn that this talent was passed down to them, like a legacy, and they look forward to the “wedding season” all year long. They are good at what they do, nothing held back – and not just crashing weddings, but becoming the life of the party – and we are led to believe, making the wedding even that much better.

But something goes wrong. They have literally hundreds of rules for how to crash a wedding. But the one situation not covered is – what happens when a “Crasher” falls in love with someone at the wedding. This is when the story really gets interesting.

You already know that the film is going to be funny when you find out that Owen Williams and Vince Vaughn are the leads. But I must admit that it was much funnier than I had expected. I am use to Williams’ style of humor from some of his films with Jackie Chan, but when complimented with Vaughn’s straight forward, sometimes rough or rude, comedic style, the combination heightens is well worth the investment.

Rachel McAdams is ideally suited as the story’s love objective and a beautiful addition to the cast. Her portrayal as the “real” person provides an excellent counter to Williams’ façade. And this sets up a conflict that is crucial to the story.

Though this was one of the funniest movies I have seen this year, what I got out of the movie was a lot more than silliness (which is what I expected when the movie started). There were a couple Message in the Movie moments here. What struck me first was the relationship between Williams and Vaughn. Vaughn had made a commitment to Williams when they were kids and he has kept that pledge for 16 years. They looked forward to their times as “Crashers”. But they never would have made it as Crashers if they weren’t the best of friends. This is demonstrated as the film goes on and Vaughn continues to suffer one situation after another. Yet he still sticks with and supports Williams.

Then there is the transformation of John after meeting Claire. After years of transient relationships, John (Williams) finally is struck with the love bug – and will go through literally anything to obtain the “love of his life”.

This movie is not for those who are easily offended, but if you can wade through some of the more offensive moments (which are, in the case of this movie, necessary to the film’s story), then this is a must see.

Strangely enough, even though this film is predicated upon the concept that a couple of “Crashers” are out to score multiple “one-night stands”, the movie has a lot to say about monogamous relationships and the love between two people. What it says to us is that playing the field provides momentary thrills, but a deep relationship is the real avenue to joy and happiness. Again, as I have said in many past reviews, the key to this is true love. And as I have pointed out in the Gospels repetitively, God is Love and Love is God. Remember the first two commandments, Love God and then Love each other.

—Comment on the blog

Wedding Crashers starts off with a great premise, degenerates into raunchy American Pie/Meet the Parents shtick, finally resorts to romantic comedy clichés, and for the most part, I loved it. Wilson and Vaughn, each playing off his own well-established movie (and public) persona, hold this film together enough to make it worth a watch.

[Beware of the Spoilers!]

As previews have made abundantly clear, what you have here are two “guy’s guys.” Guys who arrive, uninvited, at wedding after wedding, choose back-stories, fake names, female targets, and then, with the words “I’m gonna get drunk” on their lips, rush in for the “kill.” It sounds fun, it looks fun, and for a while—years, according to the story—it is fun. But of course, we join the boys not long before Wilson’s character begins to tire of this empty ritual, and starts to question the whole endeavor.

With Vaughn’s prompting, the boys crash one more wedding. And wouldn’t you know it, it’s at this wedding that Wilson meets a girl (Rachel McAdams) that he’s legitimately interested in. Not as a conquest, but as a person. As someone, perhaps, to love. The girl’s father (Christopher Walken), it turns out, is the Treasury Secretary, but that doesn’t stop Wilson from getting himself and Vaughn—who has already “scored” with the Secretary’s other daughter—invited to the family’s estate for the weekend, fake names and back-stories in tow.

Hilarity ensues, McAdams is engaged to a real jerk, Wilson falls for her, the boys have their cover blown, Vaughn ends up with the sister, Wilson is saved from his suicidal grief over losing the girl by a revelation brought on by Will Ferrell (!), and it all culminates with that obligatory, romantic comedy “rush to the altar” scene, and a happy ending.

As a story, the movie works, though it is certainly formulaic. With romantic comedies, however, I think the formula is expected, and even appreciated when done right. This movie does do it right—even giving an on-screen nod to the formula when Wilson asks if it’d be cliché to kiss McAdams at the end of the “rush to the altar” scene. It is, but that’s okay. The performances of the actors are also a plus. Wilson makes a great straight-man, Vaughn has hilarious frat-boy appeal, and Christopher Walken does a fine job of being intimidating, believable, and funny—a cooler, more rounded version of DiNero’s Jack Byrnes. There are plenty of memorable, one-liner-type moments in this film. Lots of humorous, though sometimes stereotypical, insight into how men are, and how women are. Many, many laughs.

The main weakness of the film has to do with how intent the filmmakers were on showing a full range of change in Wilson’s character. Vaughn’s character changes, but it’s a simple change—and one we aren’t as invested in because Vaughn is the movie’s main source of comic relief, making him and his relationships more ridiculous. But with Wilson, there are no less than four major shifts in character, and that kind of thing takes lots of screen time. It’s great to have such a dynamic character, and it does fit with the story, but watching it flesh-out gives the movie a start-stop quality, and makes it about fifteen minutes too long.

But these character changes, though tedious, also facilitate some of Wedding Crashers’ most significant spiritual insights: using other people is vacuous, we all need someone to love us, there’s a sense of destiny about those “chance” connections that people make with each other, everything in moderation. Granted, none of these are staggering insights, and most of them are standard romantic comedy fare, but the difference is that the insights here are aimed at guys. A romantic comedy, typically, is aimed more towards women—featuring character and story types that appeal, traditionally, to women. But this movie, which will likely appeal to guys more, will hopefully actually speak its positive messages to real-life womanizers, users, and the like.

All told, this is a fun movie. The shock-value comedy will turn-off some viewers, but it’s a great date-movie choice for those who want to see a true, appeal-to-the-guys comedy, with chick-flick sensibilities—for me, only How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days has come this close in the past. And if you know any real-life, party-boy “wedding crashers,” invite them to see this . . . it may just get them to consider the error of their ways.

Comment on the blog

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