Low expectation: Wedding Crashers

Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn drink to their current status as the most bankable comedy stars.

Wedding Crashers

directed by David Dobkin (Clay Pigeons)
written by Steve Faber ("Married...With Children") & Bob Fisher ("The Trouble with Normal")

produced by Peter Abrams (On the Line) and Robert L. Levy (On the Line) and Andrew Panay (Van Wilder)

starring Owen Wilson (I Spy), Vince Vaughn (The Lost World: Jurassic Park), Rachel McAdams (The Hot Chick), Christopher Walken (Kangaroo Jack), Isla Fisher (Scooby-Doo), Jane Seymour (Live and Let Die)

lowdown: Two sleazy guys con their way into wedding receptions in order to take advantage of women.

low expectation:
       Blame Zoolander. That movie began the unnamed comedy troupe that includes the Wilson brothers, Vince Vaughn, Ben Stiller and Will Ferrell and at times extends to Paul Rudd, Steve Carrell, and other great supporting character actors. It feels like there's a new movie every season starring at least one of the bankable stars and featuring at least cameos from the rest. Occassionally they have to conform to more universal big-budge fare like Bewitched or Mr. & Mrs. Smith or I Spy and then they always come back to these modestly produced, easily marketed and obviously fun-to-make escapades. They work best when working with a simple idea: a thirtysomething fraternity; competitive dodgeball; a '70s news team. Something like Starsky & Hutch, which sticks to more conventions, fails because it has less freedom. Still, they never are as bad as their competition at Happy Madison Productions (Sandler-Schneider-Spade)
     Wedding Crashers fits the success mold -the concept of wedding crashing is simple -and yet it has the chance to step over the line of force. It appears to be forcing the routine and the expectations. The fact that New Line aimed for the R-rating is not much better than had they pushed for a PG-13; they were still too concerned with demographics to allow for natural humor. Think of earlier Farrelly Brothers and the American Pie series and how their attempts to push envelopes resulted in artificial raunch and shock.
      Wedding Crashers might be a knee-slapping good time, but the liklihood of generic and gross gags and few surprises make it one to be wary about.

pro: went for the no-holds-barred R-rating
pro: Vaughn is back in the setting inhabited so well in Old School
con: I see a cameo by the super-busy Ferrell, but no sign of Stiller to round out the gang

follow-up:
Vince Vaughn is a face-acting genius, but even he doesn't have enough fuel for all the lulls in the generic rom-com script. He sure does put in his best effort, though.

website:
WeddingCrashersmovie.com

synopsis/press release:

In the outrageous comedy, Wedding Crashers, divorce mediators John Beckwith (Owen Wilson) and Jeremy Grey (Vince Vaughn) are business partners and life-long friends who share one truly unique springtime hobby…crashing weddings! Whatever the ethnicity of the wedding party - Jewish, Italian, Irish, Chinese, Hindu - the charismatic and charming duo always have clever back stories for inquisitive guests and inevitably become the hit of every reception, where they strictly adhere to their proven "rules of wedding crashing" to meet and pick up women aroused by the very thought of marriage.

At the tail end of another successful season of toasting brides and grooms, Jeremy learns that the daughter of Treasury Secretary William Cleary (Christopher Walken) and his wife Kathleen (Jane Seymour) is getting married in what is sure to be the Washington, D. C. social event of the year. After infiltrating the lavish affair, John and Jeremy quickly set their sights on bridesmaids Claire (Rachel McAdams) and Gloria (Isla Fisher) Cleary.

With the lavish reception in full swing, Jeremy works his game plan to perfection in seducing Gloria, but John's flirtatious banter with Claire is unexpectedly impeded by her pompous, Ivy League boyfriend Sack (Bradley Cooper). Having uncharacteristically fallen hard and fast for Claire, John convinces a resistant Jeremy to bend the crashing rules and accept an invitation to an extended weekend party at the Cleary family compound.

Once at the palatial waterfront estate, John and Jeremy endure a multitude of comical mishaps at the hands of the hysterically dysfunctional members of the Cleary family, but also learn a few unexpected lessons about love and relationships.

Wedding Crashers is a New Line Cinema presentation of a Tapestry Films production directed by David Dobkin (Shanghai Knights). The original screenplay was written by Steve Faber & Bob Fisher. The producers are Tapestry Films partners Peter Abrams, Robert L. Levy and Andrew Panay. The executive producers are Guy Riedel, Toby Emmerich, Richard Brener and Cale Boyter.

The creative team includes director of photography Julio Macat, ASC, production designer Barry Robison, costume designer Denise Wingate, composer Rolfe Kent, and editor Mark Livolsi. In addition to Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn, the talented cast also includes Christopher Walken, Rachel McAdams, Isla Fisher, Jane Seymour, Ellen Albertini Dow, Bradley Cooper and Ron Canada.

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Expectation Key

There's no possible way that I will even see this

I'll eventually see this but I'm not really expecting much

Anticipating the release of this one but I'm sure to be left unsatisfied

Such high expectation of this film only leaves room for disappointment