Wedding Crashers

I caught a Saturday night showing of "Wedding Crashers," the latest flick in the Owen Wilson/Vince Vaughn/Ben Stiller-ish genre. It was pretty hilarious. It was one of those nights when all I wanted to do was go in and watch a good comedy and have some laughs, and this was a reliable pick.

With movies like this, you can't go in expecting a great plot. So despite the fairly creative concept of two guys who crash weddings in search of women, the other elements are rather cliché and some character sketches were superficial and stereotypical, but perhaps that's the point. I also think the movie ran a little long for one of these comedies (pushing 2 hours is a bit much), but the jokes saved it from never dragging on...

Vince Vaughn was impressive and hilarious-as-ever with his minute-long seemingly improvised bursts of dialogue and usual dirty humor. Though I have to admit, something about the Vaughnster makes me uncomfortable. It might be his size-- the 6'5 hugeness factor is a bit much for me-- or the fact that I feel like he's never too far off from the characters he plays... the one who's always a bit more shallow, sleazy, and dirty than his friends.

Owen Wilson, though, what a guy. Crooked nose, chapped lips and all, I can't get enough of him. This movie just sealed the deal with his argyle sweater, Sperry Topsider sailing shoes, and his goofy blonde hair sweeping across his forehead. I like him for the same reason I am uncomfortable with Vince Vaughn; that is, I feel like he's as goofy, awkward and genuine as the characters he plays. He's the soft, introspective, geekier counterpart to his friends.

All in all, this was another great addition to the "Old School" & Co. comedy collection, guaranteed to entertain and make you laugh.

Another great thing about this flick is that it is accompanied by a fantastic soundtrack. It's another indie-tastic compilation (call it this year's "Garden State," though likely not quite as popular...) featuring tunes by The Flaming Lips, Rilo Kiley, and Death Cab, just to name a few. It's a great bonus, because everyone knows that good music always makes a movie that much better.

Here are some final comments, unrelated to the movie, but very relevant to all you moviegoers out there:

People, people, is it so much to ask that when you're attending a sure-to-be sold out showing of a very popular movie on its opening weekend, that you bypass the obligatory "buffer" between seats and just squeeze on in right by the stranger next to you? For the quadrillionth time, I was subjected to the front row of a movie, neck craned the whole time, while there were a number of individual seats in the same rows that could have easily been condensed into nice "2 person" slots. Sure, I could ask people to shimmy over (as I've done before), but sometimes you just don't feel like being that "rude person" (though I don't think this would be a rude request at all) or disturbing someone while they're having their overpriced movie meal of nachos and popcorn. Sigh. Enough on that. I should show up an hour early next time and shut my mouth.