The Wedding Crashers: Uncorked Edition
New Line Home Entertainment
Cast: Owen Wilson, Vince Vaughn
Extras: Commentary Tracks, Featurettes, Deleted Scenes, Music Video
Rating:
I didn't have a lot of expectations when I sat down to view "The Wedding Crashers." I am not a big Vince Vaughn fan and that may have been part of the reason, since I wasn't particularly looking forward to his dry, talk-faster-than-you-can-breathe delivery of dialogue. On the other hand, the film also features Owen Wilson, a comedian I have liked in pretty much every one of his films in recent years. So after some deliberation I gave this new disc from New Line a spin and I am glad, I did. The movie far exceeded my expectations and turned out to be an utterly hilarious comedy with some truly great moments.
Aside from their entrepreneurial business – as divorce mediators, no less – , John (Owen Wilson) and Jeremy (Vince Vaughn) also share an interesting hobby. A peccadillo, one could say. They love to crash weddings to pick up girls for easy sex. According to their philosophy girls are at their most desperate for attention and romantic warmth at weddings, all wrapped up in fuzzy feelings and all. The two actually make it a science almost and as the wedding season comes around they make sure they are on the guest list of every wedding they can find. And the effort pays off. Every single time they manage to whoo the ladies and get their way.
Then one day, the unthinkable happens. As Jeremy is trying to get into the pants of the bride's sister, he runs out of time. Breaking one of the rules of wedding crashing, he convinces John to extend their stay so he can get lucky, and before the two know it they almost become part of the family and Jeremy begins to develop real feelings for the girl he's trying to lay. Throwing all the rules overboard the family retreat becomes a riotous and desperate struggle to convince the girl of his dreams not to get married to another guy, while John is desperately trying to fend off the girl's little sister who's become fanatically infatuated with him.
Cleverly written and plotted "The Wedding Crashers" basically delivers a predictable premise that has been explored many times before. What makes this film different is the delivery and the all-out craziness of the two main characters. For the first time I actually enjoyed Vince Vaughn's play. His fast-talking antics fit his character for the first time and instead of totally annoying he comes across as hilariously frantic and ridiculously "testosterous." This party-animal character, paired up with Owen Wilson, who roots his play in the charming sonny boy from next door image and his masterful play with words, make a great team that is fun to watch and fun to listen to as they philosophize about love, life and the rest of the world. The tricks they have up their sleeves are priceless, as are the excuses they find for themselves to justify their doings. The two are simply a hoot, thrown into a world of victims that is entirely unprepared for them.
New Line is presenting "The Wedding Crashers" in its original widescreen presentation this release. The image is meticulously clean without a hint of speckles, dust or other blemishes. The DVD offers the original theatrical cut of the film as well as an extended version, both accessible through the disc's menu. I only watched the unrated version and it worked well for me. It isn't excessive and feels neat and tight. The transfer holds a high level of definition, bringing out even the finest textures in the costumes and the sometimes-elaborate backdrops. Colors are vivid and radiant, making sure the film always has a pleasing, almost festive, look to match the subject matter. Skin tones are naturally rendered and the solid black levels make sure the image offers up plenty of visual depth. No edge-enhancement or compression artifacts mar the presentation of the movie on this release.
The DVD contains a dynamic 5.1 channel Dolby Digital track that is engaging and very active. Surrounds are sued constantly and to great effect. Sometimes to simply add ambience, at others to create the cacophonous bustle of a wedding and at others yet, to simply drive home the immediate action. Dialogues are well integrated and always understandable, never being drowned out by the music or sound effects. The film features also a great score with good tunes and nice orchestral supplements that blend nicely with the images, enhancing the overall viewing experience.
As extras this "Uncorked" version of the film also includes a number of great bonus materials, such as two commentary tracks. The first one features director David Dobkin as he discusses the production in intimate detail, the chanllenges, the solutions, the approach and many other aspects that make fro very informative viewing. The other track is loaded with the movie's stars Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn. It is a great track, full of valuable insights, additional comedic moments, of course, and great production references/anecdotes. It is undendiable that Wilson and Vaughn have a great chemistry and hopefully they'll appear as a duo in movies to come. Also included are three deleted scenes that also make for fun viewing, although it is evident why they have been excised from the movie's final cut.
Two featurettes can also be found here, one of them on the making of the film, the other on the subject of mastering the art of wedding crashing – evidently it is not to be taken too seriously.
The release is rounded out by the music video "Circus" by The Sights.
I was extremely pleasantly surprised by "The Wedding Crashers." I expected a dull, silly gross-out comedy and found a truly enjoyable film with multi-layered humor and some great acting. It was a surprise hit for me and is definitely the comedy that immediately pops to mind when people ask me about what comedy they should watch. Get your copy and pop the corks. This film is far out and flat out hilarious!
