The Wedding Crashers
New Line Home Entertainment
Cast: Owen Wilson, Vince Vaughn, Christopher Walken, Rachel McAdams
Extras: Commentary Tracks, Featurettes, Additional Scenes, Music Video
Rating:
Since I thoroughly enjoyed "The Wedding Crashers" when it hit DVD a while back, I didn't hesitate to give the Blu-Ray Disc a check-up also, when it arrived here in our offices, courtesy of New Line Home Entertainment. Starring Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn this film is a raunchy comedy that also has a lot of heart and features some 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 woo 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 Home Entertainment is presenting "The Wedding Crashers" in both its theatrical and the "uncorked" version on this Blu-Ray Disc, which features 8 minutes of additional footage. Both versions are presented in 1080p high definition resolution, creating an image that is superbly detailed and rich throughout. Featuring the movie's original 2.40:1 widescreen aspect ratio, every bit of detail has been nicely captured and reproduced on this transfer, without a hint of blemish or deficiency. The movie has a very natural look by design and as a result, with its incredible contrast and color reproduction you will find all these natural details fully intact, down to the seams on the tuxedos. 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. It's a top notch transfer, as expected from New Line.
The release contains a surprisingly dynamic 5.1 channel Dolby Digital TrueHD track that is engaging and very active. Surrounds are in use 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.
You will find all the extras form the "Uncorked" DVD version on this release also, such as the two commentary tracks. The first one features director David Dobkin as he discusses the production in intimate detail, the challenges, 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 undeniable 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.
Also included are additional scenes and two featurettes, 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.
"The Wedding Crashers" was a surprise hit when it first arrived on DVD and now available on Blu-Ray, it is even better. Truly enjoyable with multi-layered humor and some funny acting, "The Wedding Crasher" has become 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!
