K-SCORE: 60
Director: David Dobkin
Writer: Steve Faber, Bob Fisher
Starring: Owen Wilson, Vince Vaughn, Rachel McAdams, Isla Fisher, Christopher Walken, Bradley Cooper
Spoiler Level: Minor
“I’m to believe that in two days... that these two have fallen so hopelessly in love they’d spend the next year hung up on each other?”
I remember being more charmed by Wedding Crashers on my first trip through it than I was this time. It was made in an era where Vince Vaughn was watchable and it blends successful masculine comedy with a fairly formulaic feminine love story.
There are still a lot of funny moments. I’m particularly fond of the don’t-kill-yourself book, Jeremy refusing to return Todd’s painting, and John telling a bunch of kids that “love doesn’t exist” and he’s “pretty sure friendship doesn’t exist either.” But there are a lot of quality jokes throughout and a lot of the characters are a good mix of likable, relatable, and absurd. Gloria is especially great. Isla Fisher really crushed that role, and I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone mention as much before.
The love story between John and Claire doesn’t really work though because of imbalances in the script. Half the film takes place over a two day span and it represents nearly their entire arc. I’m to believe that in two days, a half dozen mild encounters in a beautiful setting, that these two have fallen so hopelessly in love they’d spend the next year hung up on each other? A reasonable ending would be for Claire to leave Sack and John and find someone who doesn’t suck. I just don’t buy it anymore that a girl like that would throw herself at John at the end after he lied to her about who he was.
It’s still pretty entertaining though and it’s an interesting intersection of stars. Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson are passing by Isla Fisher, Rachel McAdams, and Bradley Cooper in the middle of the hill, the first group on their way down to Delivery Man and Night at the Museum whatever-number, and the second group on their way up to Sherlock Holmes and American Sniper.