Rating: Unrated
Starring:
Owen Wilson as John Beckwith
Vince Vaughn as Jeremy Grey
Christopher Walken as Treasury Secretary William Cleary
Rachel McAdams as Claire Cleary
Isla Fisher as Gloria Cleary
Jane Seymour as Kathleen Cleary
Ellen Albertini Dow as Grandma Mary Cleary
Keir O’Donnell as Todd Cleary
Bradley Cooper as Zack “Sack” Lodge
Ron Canada as Randolph
Henry Gibson as Father O’Neil
Dwight Yoakam as Mr. Kroeger
Rebecca De Mornay as Mrs. Kroeger
David Conrad as Trap
Jennifer Alden as Christina Cleary
Special Features:
Commentary by: director David Dobkin
Commentary by: Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn
Unrated edition includes an additional 8-1/2 minutes of footage
Also includes R-rated version seen in theaters
Four deleted scenes: Cleary tests John, Jeremy consoles John, Bluefish, “99 Red Balloons”
Featurettes: Event Planning, The Rules
The Rules of Wedding Crashing
The Sights “Circus” music video plus an interactive soundtrack promo
Theatrical and teaser trailers and TV spots
Other Info:
Widescreen (2.35:1)
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Spanish Subtitles
Running Time: 128 Minutes
Synopsis:
The following text is from the DVD cover:
“More Footage And More Laughs make this Uncorked Edition comedy the most raucous party of the year!
Guided by a set of “wedding crashing rules”, John Beckwith (Owen Wilson) and Jeremy Grey (Vince Vaughn) can charm their way into any wedding…and into the hearts of every bridesmaid. But at the biggest nuptials of the year, John breaks the rules and falls for the daughter (Rachel McAdams) of the US Secretary of Treasury (Christopher Walken), and Jeremy is left at the mercy of her “stage-five-clinger” sister (Isla Fisher). Being there for his buddy, Jeremy follows John to the family’s huge estate for a weekend that may even be too wild for these professional party guys.”
This is the unrated version of Wedding Crashers, but the regular version was rated R for sexual content/nudity and language.
The Movie:
I have to admit that when I saw the hype for Wedding Crashers, I was expecting yet another sex comedy filled with nudity, crude sex jokes, and other typical stuff. And while there are certainly those elements in this movie, it has more to offer. The first part of the film is that crude sex comedy as John and Jeremy seduce vulnerable women at weddings. There’s nudity, the typical sex gags, and more. But then the movie takes a 180 turn and becomes a romantic comedy. It was not what I was expecting. I found the film to be genuinely funny and it had something more to offer than most comedies of this type. You cared for the eccentric cast of characters and cheered for John to win the heart of Claire. The bizarre tortures that Jeremy must face also provide a lot of laughs.
Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn make a great comedy team on the screen together. Owen is slow and methodical while Vaughn is a motormouth and high strung. Vaughn gets the best scenes, though, as he has to deal with Isla Fisher as Gloria Cleary. This is a real breakout role for Fisher as she goes all out portraying the kooky daughter of the senator. In fact, the supporting cast of the film really helps take it to the next level. Christopher Walken is hilarious as Treasury Secretary William Cleary, the intimidating father of Wilson’s love interest. Jane Seymour plays his adulterous wife Kathleen Cleary. Nobody is going to think of Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman when seeing her in this role. Then there’s Rachel McAdams as Claire Cleary, the object of Wilson’s affections. She’s beautiful and funny in this film. A few surprise cameos including Dwight Yoakam, Rebecca De Mornay and Will Ferrell also provide some good laughs.
Despite the ads for this film, it isn’t as raunchy a comedy as it is portrayed. There is a fair amount of nudity, but 85% of the film is beyond that. (In fact, with a minor number of edits, this could have been a PG-13 comedy.) Wedding Crashers has something to offer beyond what the ads might lead you to believe.
I didn’t see the theatrical version of this movie, so I can’t tell you what the 8 ½ more minutes are. I do know a scene where Gloria treats a cut on Jeremy’s leg has been added. She attempts to seduce him while he’s sitting with a cut leg on the toilet. Another scene between John and Senator Cleary’s son is added where the young man warns Wilson that the Senator shipped overseas the last man who touched his wife. In any case, if you have already seen Wedding Crashers, you’ll want to see this “uncorked edition”.
The Extras:
There are a few bonus features included on this DVD. Here are the highlights:
Commentary There are two commentaries one by director David Dobkin and another by Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn. You can probably guess pretty easily which one is the more interesting to listen to. The two actors talk about stories from the set, how they got involved in the film, the other actors, and more.
Four deleted scenes There are four deleted scenes. The first features Cleary testing John about one of his planned speeches. In the scene they reveal the butler smokes weed. In the second scene, Jeremy consoles John after they are caught lying to the Clearys. The third scene features the senator bragging about his future son-in-law and how he helped save the local bluefish population. The final deleted scene features Wilson and Vaughn doing a very poor karaoke rendition of “99 Red Balloons” at the Asian wedding.
Featurettes – There are two featurettes. The first is Event Planning and it details how they set up all the wedding scenes for the opening montage. They show the costumes, decorations, cakes and more. A lot of work went into the brief scenes. The second featurette is The Rules where Wilson and Vaughn go over the rules to wedding crashing.
The Rules of Wedding Crashing This text feature lists all the rules of wedding crashing. Many of them aren’t in the film, so there’s a lot of funny stuff here. (Not walking away from a friend wearing a funny jacket is included.)
The Sights “Circus” music video plus an interactive soundtrack promo The music video by The Sights isn’t like most movie music videos in that it doesn’t feature clips from the film. It’s a straight up music video. The soundtrack promo also allows you to skip to specific songs in the film that are included on the soundtrack. It’s a nifty feature I haven’t seen on a DVD yet.
The Bottom Line:
Wedding Crashers is a funny romantic comedy wrapped in a raunchy comedy exterior. If you like one or the other, you’ll find this worth checking out.