Wedding Crashers

REVIEW
Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn have been part of a close-knit ensemble of comedic actors who have specialized in the the dumb comedy. Old School, Anchorman, Dodgeball, just to name a few, have employed what appears to be a Tarantino-esque acting troupe for the post-teen set. Neither rat nor brat, these guys just seem to enjoy making audiences laugh. Nothing, however, Wilson or Vaughn have done in the past will prepare you for the sheer exhilaration of this hilarious, surprisingly smart comedy that is ferociously funny from beginning to end. The guys play John (Wilson) and Jeremy (Vaughn), two arbitrators and lifelong friends who crash weddings to meet women. When they crash the wedding of a cabinet secretary's daughter (the holy grail of D.C. get-togethers), they embark on a frantic, bizarre, laugh-laden journey that offers one funny set piece after another. This includes a classic dinner sequence that would make the Klumps gasp for air. Wilson trades off his boyish image to good advantage as John enjoys all the trimmings of the good life in his pursuit of the lovely Claire (a ravishing McAdams). Jeremy, however, has fallen down the rabbit hole experiencing a series of escalating, raucous mishaps. These humiliations and blunders give Vaughn ample opportunity to strut his stuff, and strut it he does giving a scintillating comic performance that brings to mind a young Jack Lemmon (just as Lemmon's Jerry in Some Like It Hot got the fuzzy end of the lollipop, so, too, does Jeremy while his buddy basks in the glow of opportunity). It's a career-defining portrayal for Vaughn, who demonstrates uncanny timing and masterful delivery. To be sure, Wedding Crashers has its rough edges, but they're of little consequence, never interfering with the film's laugh ratio or total enjoyment -- it's by far one of the funniest films in years.