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Wedding Crashers By David DiCerto Catholic News Service NEW YORK (CNS) -- Male comedy teams have long been a staple in Hollywood. Just think of Hope and Crosby, Abbott and Costello or Lewis and Martin. Now comes Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson, who play lifelong friends with a peculiar hobby in the unnecessarily raunchy farce "Wedding Crashers" (New Line). Hope and Crosby they're not, but they work well together, injecting a rascally levity into a summer playing field dominated by brooding Batmen and menacing Martians. Unfortunately, director David Dobkin chooses to pander to the lowest common denominator -- rather than trusting his leads' considerable comic competence (and chemistry) -- mucking up what could have been a smart screwball buddy film with lewd sight gags and foul language. As the title suggests, the two play divorce mediators -- sensitive straight man John (Wilson) and roguish goofball Jeremy (Vaughn) -- whose real passion is infiltrating weddings (the more difficult the better). They do it partly for the challenge, partly for the food, but mostly to seduce as many romantically predisposed women as possible (a goal depicted through a risque montage). They learned their scam from a "legendary" shyster named Chaz (played in a brief cameo by an unbilled Will Ferrell) and are bound by its strict rules. An amusing sequence shows the chameleonlike duo blending into different ethnic settings, including Jewish, Irish, Italian and even Chinese. The ultimate test comes when they crash the high-profile wedding of the daughter of Washington bigwig William Cleary (Christopher Walken). Having successfully conned their way into the beltway bash, they quickly make moves on Cleary's two other daughters -- both bridesmaids -- Claire (Rachel McAdams) and her slightly psychotic sister Gloria (Isla Fisher). In an uncharacteristically vampish turn, Jane Seymour plays Cleary's unfaithful wife. Things go awry when John falls for Claire and -- bending the rules -- convinces Jeremy to accept Gloria's invitation to spend an extended weekend with the dysfunctional Cleary clan at their Kennedylike compound, so John can woo Claire away from her undeserving and ultracompetitive Ivy League fiance (pompously played by Bradley Cooper). Vaughn and Wilson manage to make the caddish characters appealing, despite their dishonorable behavior. Some of the interplay is quite funny, making the film's overall crassness all the more a pity. The fact that they are likable hardly justifies the movie's uncalled-for ribaldry that makes light of casual sex and promiscuity, including a dinner scene where Gloria fondles Jeremy under the table, and a racy bedroom sequence involving Jeremy, Gloria and (later) her gay brother (Keir O'Donnell). Though John and Jeremy do come to regret their dishonesty and sincerely realize the emptiness of their lifestyle, give me Hope and Crosby any day. The film contains much crude sexual humor and situations, some involving partial nudity; a brief irreverent comment; and pervasive rough and vulgar language and profanity. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is O -- morally offensive. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R -- restricted. - - - DiCerto is on the staff of the Office for Film & Broadcasting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. END Copyright (c) 2005 Catholic News Service/USCCB. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed. CNS · 3211 Fourth St NE · Washington DC 20017 · 202.541.3250 |
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