Both these films are sentimental and sappy at the same time they're crude and amiably raunchy. Personally, crude and raunchy is enough for me, but these are Hollywood studio films and executives want to be able to point to the fact that the characters learn and grow and are better men for their experiences. Real people usually don't learn and grow like this, but Hollywood is a fantasy, right?
When The Wedding Singer came out, I must have seen it on DVD about a dozen times, I think, because for whatever reason my kids loved it. And it is a funny movie. Steve Buscemi's drunken toast is about the funniest and saddest thing I've ever seen in a film.
Who invited these guys?
Vince Vaughn, though, lives in a class all by himself when it comes to tossing off caddishness and chavinistic casual asshole-ishness. He's so great as this cut-rate Lothario here that he even outshines Owen Wilson's stoned sincere shithead character which is no small accomplishment.
Adam Sandler's a funny guy, too, but he goes into sincere-mode real early in The Wedding Singer while Wilson and Vaughn take 2/3 of their move to get to that "lessons learned" business. So even though Wedding Crashers buys back the comedic sale for me, it still takes you on a better ride getting there.
Wedding Crashers. Because two guys trying to get laid is even funnier than one guy looking for love.
******
Movies Squared (Two Reviews for the Price of One) is a companion blog to News Views & Schmooze.
To see more of these reviews based on comparing a film now out in the theaters with a similar one available to rent on DVD, please click here.
