Wedding Crashers (2005)

It crashes, alright -- right into a goddamn tree. The first hour or so is incredibly funny. The jokes work, the actors are clicking, it's all good. Vaughn and Wilson appear to be unstoppable. So what the hell happened to the film's second half? I know that the filmmakers are trying to court audiences both male (raunchy humor, boobies) and female (love, sensitivity, heartbreak), but was it really necessary to let the last forty minutes of the movie be comprised almost exclusively of Owen Wilson moping? Watching this is like watching your favorite baseball team bring up a hot rookie pitcher, and in his first outing he throws a no-hitter for five innings. Then, just when he's gone long enough to impress everyone and qualify for the win, he gives up seven home runs in the sixth. It's a situation so bad that even your best reliever (who, in this simile, is played by Will Ferrell) can't do anything. So yeah, I really appreciate the effort and you're pretty good, but maybe you should go back down to the minors and learn something about stamina. Thanks heaps.

Grade: C+