AmateurMovieReviews.com

I'm a big Vince Vaughn fan, so I'll usually go see any movie that he's in. Even if the story is terrible, I know I can count on Vaughn's character to deliver a few laughs along the way. So even though I don't particularly like Owen Wilson and even though I was a bit wary of all the hype surround 2005's blockbuster Wedding Crashers, I finally gave in and rented it the other day. The film grossed more than $205 million dollars, so it couldn't be that bad, right?

Vaugh and Wilson play friends named Jeremy and John, respectively. The two work as mediators (or lawyers -- it wasn't made totally clear) at the same firm and try to hammer out divorce settlements for disgruntled clients. In their spare time, Jeremy and John like to crash weddings (meaning they show up at weddings even though they weren't invited). We get the idea that they've been doing this for a long time. In fact, they've gotten to the point where they have their own coded language and can pick up on each other's cues without giving anything away to people within earshot.

The point of crashing all these weddings is to meet "vulnerable women." Jeremy and John think that weddings are the perfect place to meet single, eligible women because the women will be in a sentimental mood due to the ceremony, thus becoming easy prey for single men who swoop in and pretend to be sensitive and caring.

Everything goes smoothly for Jeremy and John until they crash the biggest wedding of the season, that of Treasury Secretary Cleary's daughter. Secretary Cleary (played by Christopher Walken) is the patriarch of an old, established clan that is supposed to remind viewers of the Kennedys (the touch football scene at the summer retreat is a clear example of this). Cleary has two single daughters remaining, Gloria (Isla Fisher) and Claire (Rachel McAdams). These just happen to be the two young women that Jeremy and John set their sights on.

Jeremy hooks up with Gloria on the beach during the reception and thinks that will be the end for them. But Gloria turns out to be a bit psycho and thinks that she and Jeremy will have a lasting relationship. So for the rest of the film, she pursues him and tries to force her will on him.

As for Claire, it seems that she and John really share a connection, but -- as is usual in films like this -- she has an obnoxious, overbearing, verbally-abusive boyfriend already. So John spends the rest of the film trying to win Claire over from Sack (Bradley Cooper).

Like I said before, I was looking forward to Wedding Crashers because of Vaughn's involvement in the project. But I was extremely disappointed with what I saw on the screen. There were several major problems with the movie, which I'll try to cover now.

First of all, I thought the pacing of the whole thing was off. The beginning just kind of glossed over Jeremy and John's wedding crashing activities, but I thought we should have seen more of that. The middle (at the Cleary estate) was way too long and boring. Nothing happened there and it felt like the plot came to a standstill. Then the ending developed way too slowly. I thought the film should have started wrapping up after the weekend retreat, but instead it inexplicably went off into another minor storyline.

The second problem I had with this movie was that it wasn't very funny. I was expecting to be treated to several belly laughs, but that never happened. I thought the jokes were tasteless and overdone. Plus, I didn't like the way the script made light of Gloria's aggressive actions. Would those things have been funny if the tables were turned and Jeremy was doing that to her? Not at all: so why should we accept a double standard here?

And finally, I thought the acting in this film was just average. No one really stood out as giving a good performance, which was disappointing considering some of the names in the cast.

If you haven't seen Wedding Crashers yet, I can't think of a compelling reason for you to do so. I'd skip this one if I were you!