Amazon.com Customer Reviews
Offensive to Women, a Few Laughs: a Movie to Avoid - Review written on April 06, 2008
Rating: 1 out of 5
1 customer found this review helpful, 2 did not.
This movie was dredged up from the moral abyss. Two guys' main goals in life are to have sex with strangers. Morally reprehensible, and, sadly, not so unusual--until you find out that they are so dysfunctional that they must find these throw-away partners at weddings of people they don't even know.
They seem to favor this strategy rather than developing a relationship with a woman whose introduction and rapport WASN'T based on an utter lie. The two main characters treatment of women was completely execrable. N.O.W. should have picketed this movie and shut it down.
HOWEVER, since this movie did have some funny jokes, I am not surprised at all that it did well at the box office. As P.T. Barnum said, "No one EVER went broke UNDER-estimating the taste of the American public."
There is absolutely NO WAY in which I can recommend this movie. Too steeped in immorality, and too many of its jokes are insensitive and insulting. The fallacious use of a fake "purple heart" medal is utterly insulting to all our veterans, but especially to those who EARNED this "award."
I would rather clean all the bathrooms of Grand Central Station with my personal toothbrush than watch this movie--OR one like it--again.
I'd crash this party if I were you... - Review written on March 07, 2008
Rating: 3 out of 5
1 customer found this review not to be helpful.
There was a lot of buzz surrounding this film back when it was released, and I must admit that while upon repeated viewings it doesn't hold up as strong as it once did it is still extremely funny. Yes, `Wedding Crashers' may be one cliché after another, but those clichés are strung together so effortlessly that you can't help but fall for each and every gag.
The film follows two friends, John and Jeremy, who make a habit of crashing weddings to score with single chicks. When they crash the wedding of Secretary William Cleary's daughter, Christina, they wind up on an adventure they didn't bank on. At the wedding they each set their sights on one of Secretary Cleary's other daughters; Jeremy targeting the nymphomaniac Gloria and John seeking out the beautiful, yet spoken for, Claire. When they wind up invited to the Cleary's estate for the weekend (who in their right mind would invite two men they've never met to their home for the weekend) hilarity ensues. While John is busy trying to woo Claire away from her controlling boyfriend Zachary Jeremy is trying to ward off the advances of Gloria.
I've never been a huge fan of Owen Wilson, and I still hold firm to the belief that he is only really `good' when paired with Ben Stiller (together they are flawless). Here he winds up being the more straight laced actor and, while he has a few funny lines, really leaves the comedy aspect of the film up to scene partner Vince Vaughn. `Wedding Crashers' marked Vaughn's rebirth so-to-speak, revitalizing his career thanks to one hilarious performance here (although I saw this coming since his glorious `Old School' turn). I've always been a huge fan of Vaughn and loved some of his earlier work (I just adore his performances in films like `Return to Paradise' and `A Cool Dry Place') but it seemed like Hollywood had forgotten about him; and then there was `Wedding Crashers' and his career has never been the same. I'm happy for him; he deserved it.
Isla Fisher is really the standout here. She has, undeniably, the scene-stealer role of the film and she does just that; steals scenes. As Gloria she is sensual, abrasive, obnoxious, psychotic and most of all hilarious. Rachel McAdams does a fine job as Claire in a role that is far less attention grabbing. She is such a beautiful and talented actress. I can't wait to see her career skyrocket. Jane Seymour has a surprising turn here as the Secretary's unhappy wife and Ellen Alberti Dow is her usual funny self as the Cleary Grandmother. Christopher Walken is quite simply Christopher Walken (shouldn't he be in like every movie). Keir O'Donnell is a bit over the top as the strange Cleary son, Todd, and Bradley Cooper is kind of annoying as Zachary. There is a brilliant cameo by Will Ferrell towards the end that makes me wish he had a larger role in the film.
`Wedding Crashers' is not a god-send but it is well worth the watch through. There are moments when the laughs will come so hard there will be tears and then times when the laughs are more of an embarrassed laugh. It's truly a mixed bag, but there is more good then bad here, that's for sure.
"Rule Number One: Never Leave a Fellow Crasher Behind" - Review written on October 18, 2007
Rating: 5 out of 5
2 customers found this review helpful, 1 did not.
It has been several years since a movie made me laugh as much as this one did. I watched it using headphones, sitting next to my wife, and she stopped what she was doing several times and looked at me like I had gone crazy. The truth is that if you enjoy humor that is sometimes politically incorrect, and even a little rude, you will have a blast with this film.
The premise is pretty simple, John and Jeremy are two friends that crash weddings and not only get free food and drinks, but also hook up with a lot of girls in the process. They are living the good life and stay on this path of hit and run fun for a while. But when at the wedding of the daughter of Secretary William Cleary they get together with the two sisters of the bride, things get a little more complicated. They end up going on a weekend trip to an island with the family and close friends of the just married couple, and the madness goes on a rampage.
The cast does an outstanding job. I was surprised by how good Vince Vaughn was on The Break-Up, but I think he is even better on this movie, with a great delivery of some extremely funny lines. I have been disappointed in the past by Owen Wilson, but here he made me laugh out loud, and he certainly showed us that he can play the "good" guy effectively. Then there is Isla Fisher, who is great in her role of Gloria, the nymph that "captures" Jeremy in her net and makes Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction look sane. The rest of the cast does not lag far behind, including a conflicted brother of the bride, a mother in need of attention, and a priest that gets more than he bargained for, but I have to make a special mention for Will Ferrell. Fans of this actor know what I am talking about. In the couple of scenes in which he partakes from the action, he makes us laugh so much that it is unbelievable.
I think that by now it is pretty clear. Those that like "proper" humor should not even consider watching this. However, if you are looking for one of the funniest movies in the last several years and do not care much about political correctness, this is a film you cannot miss.
Christopher Walken and Witty Dialogue Tainted By Juvenile Humor. - Review written on September 08, 2007
Rating: 3 out of 5
2 customers found this review helpful, 1 did not.
John Beckwith (Owen Wilson) and Jeremy Grey (Vince Vaughn) are lifelong friends and business partners who work as divorce mediators in Washington, D.C. They are fairly good at what they do and seem to enjoy what they do. The reason for this is that in the springtime they take off and travel around the country seeking weddings to crash. It doesn't matter the ethnicity or culture of the people involved, they have an identity for each one. Besides the free food and drinks, the reason the duo crashes these weddings is so that they can pick up women who have become sexually aroused by the weddings. It's one woman after another and a seemingly neverending party. That is until Jeremy convinces John to attend the wedding of the daughter of Treasure Secretary William Cleary (Christopher Walken). It's a lavish affair and John becomes smitten with Cleary's daughter, Claire (Rachel McAdams) while Jeremy just wants to roll around in the hay with Cleary's daughter, Gloria (Isla Fisher). John and Jeremy are invited by the daughters back to the family estate for the weekend and John begs Jeremy to go so that he can try to get to know Claire better, even though she has a jerk boyfriend named Sack (Bradley Cooper). It's a weekend full of comic mishaps and misunderstandings that eventually leads to some sappy nonsense about love and relationships.
WEDDING CRASHERS features a lot of situational comedy and is seeped in innuendo. There's also some brief glimpses of nude women. All of that appeals heavily to adolescent males and helped make the movie one of the top grossing films of 2005, led it to be named as one of "The 50 Greatest Comedies Of All Time" in 2006 by Premiere magazine, and gave both Wilson and Vaughn one of the biggest movies of their careers up to that point.
But that's really all just fluff. The main reasons to watch WEDDING CRASHERS is for the dialogue and to see Christopher Walken. Props to writers Steve Faber and Bob Fisher (as well as Olson and Vaughn who adlibbed some bits) for giving Jeremy and John such witty diatribe throughout the film. Whether it's about the virtues of not-dating, thoughtfully reflecting upon how to live a meaningful life, or a pontification about falling in love, WEDDING CRASHERS has some great dialogue to quote. As for the other reason to watch, it's Christopher Walken. We should watch anything that man does. Enough said.
I don't enjoy WEDDING CRASHERS as much as my brothers or some of my friends do. It has some funny moments and I can see why it is so popular. However, it's definitely not a movie for everyone. That's not to say that I didn't like it, because that's not true. I just don't think it's as funny as a lot of people think it is. Still, it's still a movie that any serious movie buff should see at least once. If nothing else, you'll at least have some great dialogue to bring up in conversations later.
The DVD includes two commentaries, one with Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn, the other with director David Dobkin. Also included are deleted scenes, two featurettes "Event Planning" and "A Crash Course in Wedding Crashing", and a music video from The Sights called "Circus".
"We're not *that* funny" - Review written on August 23, 2007
Rating: 3 out of 5
1 customer found this review not to be helpful.
The main problem with Wedding Crashers is that you know know exactly how it will land: nosediving through the frathouse humor, leveling off with the standard maladjusted characters coping with awkward situations, and gliding gently to rest on an unlikely happy ending. Without the element of surprise, the humor fizzles down to some admittedly very funny one-liners.
As another reviewer mentioned, tighter editing would have saved Wedding Crashers from itself. Too many repetitive scenes, from start to finish, attempt to fully flesh characters who are little more than National Lampoon stereotypes. Development paths of all the players are rather predictable; perhaps the only surprise is Christopher Walken as the consistently normal, loving father. And the script falls into one of the oldest traps: trying to pull a genre u-turn halfway through. In this case, vulgar comedy handbraking into heartfelt romance. For me, it didn't work.
Not that Owen Wilson (I swear I though he was Luke and his brother was Owen) doesn't pull off the transformation. He plays the lovelorn loser as well in the second half as he does the gluttonous playboy in the first. He's just asked to do it too often, in too many repetitive scenes. Vaughn has his moments and lines of course. But as usual he loses control too often and sinks a number of potentially funny scenes.
I enjoyed Wedding Crashers, and had more than a few good laughs. But I couldn't help feeling that I was watching a cobbled-together compilation of highlights from a number of other romantic comedies I've already seen too many times.
Likable, but disappointing - Review written on May 26, 2007
Rating: 3 out of 5
1 customer found this review helpful, 2 did not.
I was hoping for something special with this. This movie boasts both a great cast and great setup. Two 30-something attorneys still holding on to an "Animal House" lifestyle?...oh yeah, Wilson and Vaughn fit the roles perfectly. The supporting cast includes the appealing Rachel McAdams, and the always-great Christopher Walken and Jane Seymour.
The movie itself is marketed as a comedy cut from the cloth of Animal House. And when it keeps that focus...showing the two main characters as personable rogues, the movie works. Everything seems to be in place: Plentiful schemes and partying by our heroes? Check. One great grandiose scam underway? Check. Detestable rival for our heroes? Check.
There are problems however. The movie suffers from bad timing and editing. It also takes itself way too seriously. The timing suffers because while there are some great setups, the payoffs aren't there. Here's an example--while Vaughn is staying at his latest girlfriend's family house, events run out of control to the point that he becomes unwillingly bound to the guest bed. The big payoff is when her dad comes in the room, but the scene just ends. Dad seems to notice the ropes holding Vaughn into place...but there's no real reaction.
The movie is overlong and needed some major editing when the story returns from the visit to the family house. It's pretty easy to guess how the movie will end even halfway through it, so scene after scene of plot development isn't really needed. Likewise, the cameo towards the end was funny, but could have been handled in a single scene rather than dragging on to multiple events and locations.
Finally, the movie treats itself way too seriously. I don't have a problem with a "deeper" moments, or a plot where our heroes see the errors of their ways. But the last half of the movie feels like the comedy has been jettisoned in order to follow Wilson's soul-searching.
All in all, not bad, but not nearly as good as I had hoped. On the other hand, given the stars, there was a real danger that Ben Stiller would make a cameo. Fortunately, he doesn't.
Hilarious comedy! - Review written on May 24, 2007
Rating: 4 out of 5
2 customers found this review helpful.
I'm rating this movie in general, not specifically the unrated DVD version...This is a very, very funny movie! Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson make a perfect team, and the underrated Isla Fisher steals every scene she's in. The funny parts (i.e., practically the entire movie) are REALLY funny, with no ridiculous juvenile humor. Yet there are poignant moments that reveal what great friends the two guys are in this movie, whether or not they want to admit it. When one of the guys decides he doesn't want to crash weddings anymore, his buddy goes off to find another partner in crime, and his new venue is absolutely, ridiculously hilarious. Highly entertaining movie that is just as funny the 2nd time around.