Wedding Crashers 

Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn play John Beckwith and Jeremy Grey, two thirty-something divorce mediators who spend every wedding season crashing the numerous celebrations under false identities. They invariably become the life of the parties they crash, blending in by standing out, as displayed in a spirited extended musical montage at the beginning of the film.

John is tiring of the shallow nature of their pursuits, but Jeremy persuades him to attempt one last hurrah - crashing the wedding of the daughter of a high ranking Washington politico played by Christopher Walken.

Successfully gaining entry to the wedding and its reception, they both pursue sisters of the bride - John is taken by the down-to-earth Claire (Rachel McAdams - Mean Girls, The Notebook), while Jeremy scores with the young and disturbingly clingy Gloria (Isla Fisher - Scooby Doo, Home and Away).

When Gloria invites the pair to return with the family to their seaside estate, Jeremy (having been exposed to Gloria's true nature) is extremely resistant, but the smitten John convinces him to go along so he'll have another shot at the attached Claire. Further contrivances naturally ensue.

The pleasures of Wedding Crashers are not complex, but they are considerable. It's a consistently amusing comedy that thankfully does not show all its best moments in the trailer.

It's refreshing when such simple ingredients as a likable cast, a moderately amusing script, some bountiful improvisation and a couple of lewd set-pieces come together so nicely. We haven't had a mainstream studio comedy this purely pleasurable since 2003's The School of Rock. And this one has sex jokes.

That however, is not to say Wedding Crashers is a juvenile gross out comedy along the lines of the American Pie movies - despite its consistent raciness, it possesses a paradoxical maturity and warmth at its heart.

While the whole cast is talented, this is very much Vince Vaughn's show. As displayed in several supporting roles over the past few years, Vaughn's improvisational ramblings are comic gold, and they get numerous showings here. It's actually surprising how long some shots remain on his bawdily pontificating visage, not that this is a bad thing.

Vaughn has a bit of a love-him-or-hate-him quality about him when he does comedy, and if you're in the latter camp, Wedding Crashers may try your patience at times, but he's nowhere near as grating as some (not this reviewer) found him to be in Made.

A considerable comedic talent in his own right, Wilson very much holds up his end of the proceedings, but his comics stylings are subtler than Vaughn's and consequently he plays the closest thing Wedding Crashers has to a straight man.

McAdams and Fisher are both able foils for the leads. McAdams develops the sweetly spirited persona first seen in The Notebook, displaying a natural charisma that betrays her inevitable destiny as a top leading lady.

And Fisher is a revelation. More than holding her own against the screen-devouring Vaughn (who towers over her), she unleashes a heretofore unseen comedic force which makes you wonder what further talents this Aussie former soap star has been hiding from us.

Although he strikes fear in our leads at times, Walken is essentially playing a good guy, which is a pleasant change, but it would've been nice to see him in a couple more set-pieces. While Jane Seymour, as his man-eater wife, gets considerable mileage out of her few surprising scenes.

Amusing cameos from Rebecca De Mornay and Dwight Yoakim open the film, and the great Henry Gibson (Magnolia, The 'burbs) is his reliable self as the priest who officiates. And you gotta love the names the writers come up with for Claire's WASP boyfriend and his mates - Sack, Trap, Flip and Kip. Awesome.

The last few years have seen the release of several comedies featuring a selection of predominantly comedic actors that critics have grouped together under the name the "Frat Pack". It includes guys like Owen and Luke Wilson, Ben Stiller, Will Ferrell, Jack Black and Vaughn.

While films like Old School, Starsky and Hutch, Dodgeball and Anchorman are undeniably funny at times, they all reeked of unfulfilled potential - not quite classics that should've been.

With Wedding Crashers, the Frat Pack mentality arguably gels perfectly for the first time - it is unapologetically bawdy, laugh-out-loud hilarious and fun fun fun! Really.

Highly recommended.

Dominic Corry