Synopsis
Rick (Owen Wilson) and Fred (Jason Sudeikis) receive hall passes from their wives, who are becoming frustrated in their marriages, allowing them to do whatever they want with other women without consequences for a week.
Review
There are times when you watch a movie and really enjoy it, then you don’t watch it for years. Eventually, you come across it again and remember enjoying it all those years ago so you watch it. Except this time, you don’t find it as enjoyable as you did before. That’s Hall Pass for me. When you see Owen Wilson and Jason Sudeikis at the top of the billing, you know exactly what kind of comedy you’re in for; It’s the kind of comedy that is my bread and butter. However, it doesn’t seem to have aged as well as other similar films I can watch over and over. Wilson and Sudeikis make a great pair and the two of them together is when I laughed the most. The leading ladies, Jenna Fischer and Christina Applegate, are excellent as well. Even the supporting cast is fun to watch, especially Rick’s (Wilson) and Fred’s (Sudeikis) group of friends. The chemistry was there, so the cast isn’t the problem. Rather the writing was this films biggest weakness. When a joke or gag was funny, it was hilarious. But not many of them were funny. For a comedy, that’s the exact opposite of what you want.
I thought Hall Pass was OK 😐 When I laughed, I laughed hard. Unfortunately, those laughs felt few and far between. The entire cast was great but the script wasn’t there to support them. I was expecting more from the Farrelly Brothers.
Trailer
Cast & Crew
Bobby Farrelly – Director / Screenplay
Peter Farrelly – Director / Screenplay
Pete Jones – Story / Screenplay
Kevin Barnett – Screenplay
Owen Wilson – Rick
Jason Sudeikis – Fred
Jenna Fischer – Maggie
Christina Applegate – Grace
Nicky Whelan – Leigh
Derek Waters – Brent
Stephen Merchant – Gary
Larry Joe Campbell – Hog-Head
JB Smoove – Flats
Joy Behr – Dr. Lucy
Bruce Thomas – Rick Coleman
Tyler Hoechlin – Gerry
Richard Jenkins – Coakley
Alexandra Daddario – Paige
Kristin Carey – Aunt Meg
Jeremy: Okay, what’s our backstory? John: We’re brothers from New Hampshire, we’re venture capitalists. Jeremy: I’m sick of that! Let’s be from Vermont and let’s have an emerging maple syrup conglomerate. John: Wait, that’s stupid. We don’t know anything about maple syrup. Jeremy: I happen to know everything there is to know about maple syrup. I love maple syrup. I love maple syrup on pancakes. I love it on pizza. I like to take maple syrup and put a little bit in my hair when I’ve had a rough week. What do you think holds it up, slick? John: It’s the first quarter of the big game and you want to toss up a Hail Mary! I’d like to be pimps from Oakland or cowboys from Arizona, but it’s not Halloween! Grow up, Peter Pan! Count Chocula! Look, we been to a million weddings. And guess what? We’ve rocked ’em all!
Synopsis
John (Owen Wilson) and Jeremy (Vince Vaughn) are two best friends who look forward to one thing every year: wedding season. When the pair crashes a high-profile wedding, they get more than they expected when John begins to fall for Claire (Rachel McAdams) and Clare’s sister, Gloria (Isla Fisher), falls for Jeremy.
Review
I can only vaguely recall the first time I watched Wedding Crashers but I do remember thinking that comedies like this are the reason I like the genre so much. Comedies are seemingly one of the most difficult types of movies to make because humor is so subjective and there is such a high chance that if the jokes fail, the movie fails. Thankfully, Wedding Crashers doesn’t have to worry about that because it is laugh-out-loud funny. A huge part comes from a memorable and witty script and great casting all around.
Sometimes a comedy duo comes along and they just click. Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn are an example of one such pairing. When the two of them are together, you can’t help but laugh. Wilson’s Southern, slow and more drawn out delivery complements Vaughn’s more quick and energetic style perfectly. It is easy to tell that they were having just as much fun playing their parts as we have watching them in the parts. Their chemistry is simple electric.
Besides Wilson and Vaughn, the rest of the film’s cast was phenomenal as well. Rachel McAdams has that adorable girl-next-door quality that is easy to fall in love with. Isla Fisher is fantastic as always, playing the crazy side of her character believably. Christopher Walken as McAdams’ and Fisher’s father works exactly as you would expect it to. Bradley Cooper in one of his earlier roles is well cast as the douche bag boyfriend. One of my surprise favorites was Jane Seymour as Walken’s unfaithful wife. While she doesn’t have as much screen time as the rest, she makes the best of what time she does have.
One thing Wedding Crashers does that most comedies have a hard time doing is fleshing out their characters. Most often, a comedy relies on its jokes to hide the fact it hasn’t developed its characters deeply. However, as this movie goes on, you learn a little bit more and more about John (Wilson) and Jeremy’s (Vaughn’s) friendship, Claire’s (McAdams) relationship wish Sack (Cooper), how Sack acts when he is away from Claire, and so much more. It is rather uncommon for a comedy to develop its characters so much.
For me, two measurements of a great comedy, besides did it make me laugh, are how quotable is it after I finish watching it and do the jokes hold up after multiple viewings. This film easily fulfills both criteria. At over a decade old, I still laugh at almost every joke and gag, despite knowing the punchline or what is going to happen. Many of the greatest lines are regularly at the forefront of my mind, ready to be quoted at a moment’s notice. You couldn’t ask for more out of a comedy.
I thought Wedding Crashers was GREAT 😀 Whenever I think of wedding movies, the first one that comes to mind is almost always this one. There is just something about this film that I find to be very enjoyable. Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn just click as the leading duo and the rest of the cast give fun performances as well. If I can keep laughing at a movie even after multiple viewings, then I know that it is a great comedy and I still can’t stop laughing.
Favorite Quote
Jeremy: John, I need to talk to you.
John: No, not right now.
Jeremy: What’s wrong with you? Why do you got the weird look all over your face?
John: Claire’s mom just made me grab her hooters.
Jeremy: Well, snap out of it! What? A hot, older woman made you feel her cans? Stop crying like a little girl.
John: I wasn’t crying like a little girl.
Jeremy: Why don’t you try getting jacked off under the table in front of the whole damn family and have some real problems? Jackass. What were they like, anyway? They look pretty good. Are they real? Are they built for speed or for comfort? What you do with ’em? You play the motorboat? Ppppt! Ppppt! You motorboatin’ son of a bitch. You old sailor, you! Where is she? She still in the house?
Trailer
Cast & Crew
David Dobkin – Director
Steve Faber – Writer
Bob Fisher – Writer
Rolfe Kent – Composer
Owen Wilson – John Beckwith
Vince Vaughn – Jeremy Grey
Rachel McAdams – Claire Cleary
Isla Fisher – Gloria Cleary
Christopher Walken – Secretary Bill Cleary
Jane Seymour – Kathleen Cleary
Bradley Cooper – Sack Lodge
Keir O’Donnell – Todd Cleary
Ellen Albertini Dow – Grandma Mary Cleary
Ron Canada – Randolph
Henry Gibson – Father O’Neil
Synopsis
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