Wedding Crashers (2005)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

David Dobkin

Writers (WGA):

Steve Faber (written by) &
Bob Fisher (written by)

Release Date:

15 July 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

On July 15th, they're coming to your wedding...with or without invitations.

Plot:

John Beckwith and Jeremy Grey, a pair of committed womanizers who sneak into weddings to take advantage of the romantic tinge in the air, find themselves at odds with one another when John meets and falls for Claire Cleary.

Plot Keywords:

Wedding | Divorce | Washington D.C. | Best Friend | Womanizer

Awards:

9 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

Owen Wilson	...	John Beckwith
Vince Vaughn	...	Jeremy Grey
Christopher Walken	...	Secretary William Cleary
Rachel McAdams	...	Claire Cleary
Isla Fisher	...	Gloria Cleary
Jane Seymour	...	Kathleen Cleary
Ellen Albertini Dow	...	Grandma Mary Cleary
Keir O'Donnell	...	Todd Cleary
Bradley Cooper	...	Zachary 'Sack' Lodge
Ron Canada	...	Randolph
Henry Gibson	...	Father O'Neil
Dwight Yoakam	...	Mr. Kroeger
Rebecca De Mornay	...	Mrs. Kroeger
David Conrad	...	Trap
Jennifer Alden	...	Christina Cleary (as Jenny Alden)

MPAA:

Rated R for sexual content/nudity and language.

Runtime:

119 min | 128 min (unrated version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Netherlands:12 | Finland:K-11 (re-rating after appeal) | Finland:K-15 (original rating) | Peru:14 | Argentina:16 | Brazil:14 | Taiwan:R-18 | Colombia:12 | Mexico:B15 | Hong Kong:IIB | Spain:13 | France:U | Malaysia:(Banned) | USA:Not Rated (unrated version) | Chile:Y7 | Canada:18A (Alberta) | USA:R (certificate #41437) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Zurich) | Iceland:L | Singapore:M18 (re-rating) | Singapore:NC-16 (cut) | South Korea:15 | New Zealand:M | Ireland:15A | UK:15 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Germany:12 | Canada:14A (British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | Australia:M (re-rating after appeal) | Philippines:PG-13 | Sweden:7 | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Australia:MA (original rating) | Norway:11

Filming Locations:

Assateague Island National Seashore, Maryland, USA

Company:

New Line Cinema

Trivia:

A real wedding planner was kept onset to make sure the weddings in the movie looked real.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Gloria is tending to Jeremy's football injury to his knee she is getting her supplies off of a cart. When she gets on Jeremy's lap there is no cart.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Mr. Kroeger: I don't have custody of the kids.
Mrs. Kroeger: You know what?
Mr. Kroeger: I don't get custody.
Mrs. Kroeger: It is an insane pathetic joke, what I've had to go through.
Mr. Kroeger: Right now, right now, she doesn't know where the kids are, do you?
Mrs. Kroeger: Do not talk about me as a mother.

Movie Connections:

Featured in 2006 MTV Movie Awards (2006) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Amber

Good comedy that only struggles when it has to focus on the actual narrative

John Beckwith and Jeremy Grey are committed bachelors who enjoy their womanising ways. They specialise in crashing weddings and picking up women for one night stands by taking advantage of their lower defences. Countless scores of women later, John is getting tired but the offer of "one last big job" tempts him back to crash the wedding of Treasury Secretary Cleary's daughter. Things go well until John falls for Claire Cleary while Jeremy finds himself trapped with the frighteningly clingy Gloria as the pair accept an invitation back to the weekend retreat of the Cleary family.

This did not appear strong enough to draw me into the cinema on its release but, on an trans-Atlantic flight it looked like being good enough to fill some time – which is actually a pretty fair summary of the film's strengths and weaknesses. I say this because it is funny enough to cover the problems that it has and thus will serve up as an enjoyable experience if you're relaxed enough to let this happen. The strengths lie in the lead two characters – they banter, they are lively and they are funny. Funny enough to cover up the fact that they are exploitative and sexual predators and funny enough to mean that the scenes where they are doing their thing are generally enjoyable. Of course it helps that Wilson and Vaughn are both doing their thing as usually and have great chemistry together – good news if you usually like them but, if you don't, then why bother? The weaknesses come in with the actual story because, every time someone has to fall in love with someone else, the laughs stop, the pace slows and the whole thing takes on a mushy air that doesn't gel that well with the banter scenes. Likewise the plot devices in the second hour tend to feel a little forced where they are just used to provide direction and create a proper ending etc. This doesn't mean it is terrible but it cannot be a good thing when you actively wish the plot would take a backseat in a film. The support cast share the comedy reasonably well; McAdams is cool and appealing, Fisher is a bit OTT but is funny, Seymour plays on her sexy image really well while Walken is reliable as ever as Christopher Walken.

Overall this is an enjoyable if patchy comedy. It trades on the usual delivery and chemistry between Wilson and Vaughn and the two do well to produce the film's best scenes when they are together. The need for a plot, romance and separation does hurt the film a little (because it is not as good as the aimless banter) but not a massive amount. Not a great comedy then but certainly good enough to please anyone who liked Anchorman, Dodgeball and other films of similar styles of humour.