Scenes involving the boyfriend, written as a completely unlikable jerk, tend to have an unnecessary cruelty behind them that don't add to the humor. That's not to say Cooper doesn't perform the part well. It's just that the script by Steve Faber and Bob Fisher wants us to believe that a seemingly sweet-natured person such as Claire would have actually been dating this guy for more than three years. A comedy such as this needs a villain who's more of a dolt than an aggressive, cruel character.
The movie also misses out on making better use of Walken and Jane Seymour as his wife, who has the hots for John. Walken, in particular, has proven with his many stints on Saturday Night Live that he's got a knack for comedy. But here he's left generally playing the straight man to Wilson and Vaughn.
Wedding Crashers is at its strongest when it throws Wilson and Vaughn into scenes together and lets the longtime friends cut loose. Vaughn has seemingly cornered the market on the fast-talking best friend role, starting back in 1996 with Swingers. Here, he gets most of the big laughs, some of them seemingly the result of improvisation. The fact that he's used the line "I like where your head's at" in two different movies in 2005 (the other being Mr. and Mrs. Smith) leads me to that conclusion. Regardless, Vaughn is working the charm in this movie and is the best reason to see it.
Taking it in with tempered expectations, Wedding Crashers is good fun while it lasts – even managing to find a small part for Will Ferrell. It's good to see that guy get a role thrown his way every once in a while.
Grade: B-
(Rated R for sexual content/nudity and language.)
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Article comments
1 - Rob
I enjoyed this movie, but I did think it was about 20 minutes too long. The whole Funeral Crashing scene wasn't necessary. Still worth watching though.