"Life of the Party"
by Scott Mantz

"Wedding Crashers"
Owen Wilson, Vince Vaughn
Directed by David Dobkin

Who invited these guys?  Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson get toasted in "Wedding Crashers"

With so many remakes, updates, adaptations, sequels and prequels crowding movie theaters these days, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that Hollywood has officially run out of original ideas.  Fortunately, there’s one film genre that seems to be bucking the trend: the R-rated teen comedy.

Back in the 80’s, these lowbrow coming-of-age flicks were in their heyday, thanks to now-classic cable TV staples like “Fast Times at Ridgemont High,” “Porky’s” and “The Last American Virgin.”  Most of them followed the same basic premise – a bunch of horny teens are out to get laid, and a plethora of naked women are only too happy to oblige.  The genre was dormant for a while until it was reinvigorated in the late 90’s with the “American Pie” films, but as far as the formula was concerned, it was pretty much more of the same.

That is, until now.  With more and more Gen X-ers clinging to their youth and waiting until their 30’s or even their 40’s to take the plunge (if they’re not already divorced), many of them are still…well, just out to get laid.  To that extent, perhaps its not surprising that a movie like 2003’s “Old School” – a low-brow teen comedy that actually featured adults – tapped into this zeitgeist to become that winter’s surprise hit when it grossed $75 million.

Well, if that movie was your cup of tea, then you are cordially invited to continue the tradition with the hysterical “Wedding Crashers.”  Much funnier than “Old School,” but still plagued with its own problems, “Wedding Crashers” is sure to be a big summer hit, mostly because of the witty, charismatic banter between Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn.  But just like any life of the party, the film wears out its welcome, as director David Dobkin (“Shanghai Knights,” “Clay Pigeons”) lets the shenanigans drag on for far too long.

For cynical divorce mediators John Beckwith (Owen Wilson) and Jeremy Grey (Vince Vaughn), it’s wedding season – that time of the year when they impersonate other people and crash weddings in an effort to score hot chicks.  John and Jeremy always come up with clever stories to fool nosy guests, but when John falls for Claire Cleary (Rachel McAdams), the beautiful daughter of a powerful politician (Christopher Walken), he decides to break the rules to go for her.  Claire already has a pompous boyfriend (Bradley Cooper) whom her family adores, but that doesn’t stop John and Jeremy from accepting an invitation to spend the weekend at her family’s palatial waterfront compound.  They soon find themselves in over their heads with a variety of dysfunction mishaps, but in the process, they learn some hard lessons about love, friendship and wedded bliss.

There’s no denying that Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn are having a blast and have great chemistry together, but they toss off so many quotable one-liners, I wouldn’t be surprised if most of them were improvised.  And in a bit of role reversal, Vaughn – who basically recycles his performance from “Old School” – plays the over-the-top sidekick that Wilson usually plays in films like “Shanghai Noon,” while Wilson plays the more (relatively) straight-laced romantic lead.

As for the rest of the cast, Rachel McAdams continues her incredible roll after last year’s double-whammy of “Mean Girls” and “The Notebook” with a charming turn as the object of Wilson’s affection.  It’s always funny to see such an intimidating figure like Christopher Walken play it straight in an easygoing comedy, but the real scene-stealer here is Isla Fisher, who plays Walken’s clingy, cuckoo-for-Cocoa-Puffs daughter who latches onto Vaughn and gives him a taste of his own medicine.

The problem is that after a very funny set-up, the film becomes too derivative of other movies and drags on for about 20 minutes longer than it should.  Bradley Cooper gives it his all as the arrogant boyfriend who makes problems for Wilson, but it’s the same old thing that we’ve seen before.  The normally conservative Jane Seymour really goes for it (to a surprising degree) as the Mrs. Robinson-type wife who tries to seduce Wilson, but that sub-plot is basically kicked to the curb after the first hour.  Most of all, the film goes off on a tangent that stretches the film out to roughly 2 hours, and not even a surprise cameo from a currently popular film star can justify it.

But despite these flaws, “Wedding Crashers” is still a very funny movie that’s just right for the summer and continues the adult-driven R-rated teen comedy trend.  And look for that trend to continue later this season with Steve Carell (“Bruce Almighty,” “Anchorman”) in “The 40-Year-Old Virgin,” a seemingly lowbrow comedy whose title pretty much says it all.

And at this rate, I guess it’s only a matter of time before we see a teen comedy starring Michael Douglas and Harrison Ford!

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