Wedding Crashers Review

A film I fondly remember for the term “Baba Ganoush”, I hadn’t seen Wedding Crashers in years. I was excited to watch it again.

Then I remembered that it’s twenty years old. Yes, 2005 is twenty years ago, not ten.

So how does this naughty noughties comedy land nowadays?

It depends on your mindset. There’s plenty to offend you if you’d like to be. From the motives of the leads through to various representations, this film would get a lot of stick nowadays. So many things could be taken in bad faith.

But I’m not here for that. From Double Indemnity to Scrubs, things are of their time. They often bring issues that were not seen that way at the time. You can accept those things and enjoy the rest…or not. Make your choice and move on.

But also, the characters do move through clear arcs. They grow! So starting somewhere gross makes sense. A later scene moves from gross to surprisingly touching. The story knows what its doing.

With all that in mind I enjoyed it! I probably would have rated it higher back in the day, but there was still plenty to like. The biggest thing is the chemistry between Vaughn and Wilson. They just work, like siblings or perhaps a married couple. They know each other extremely well and use that to hit all the right buttons in the moment. And they use the term “Baba Ganoush”. I can’t ignore that.

Rachel McAdams is great, but Bradley Cooper as a massive douchebag steals the scenes he’s in in an early appearance. Christopher Walken is a big yes.

Perhaps it won’t land so well with a younger audience, or with anyone without some nostalgia for it, but Wedding Crashers is still enjoyable.