How To Crash a Wedding
Toasting to Wedding Crashers at 20 years old as the last great R-rated comedy
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Wedding Crashers opened 20 years ago on July 15, 2005. It made history as the first R-rated comedy to gross over $200 million at the box office. The reasons why the film was so funny and successful are the same reasons why it would never be made today. Every minute featured a hilarious joke that modern audiences would find offensive. Americans bantered with its many quotable lines for years after, a phenomenon that no longer exists. We fractured from a nation in on the same joke to one snickering at countless inside jokes.
“That was my first Asian!”
“You motorboatin’ son of a bitch, you old sailor you.”
“I’ve got a stage five clinger.”
“Well, the guy wants to run for president, he thinks Moby Dick is a venereal disease.”
“Aaaahhh, I'm hang-gliding! Take a good picture, honey, I'm dead!"
Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson formed the perfect charismatic comedic duo as fast-talking Jeremy Gray and sappy John Beckwith. Many of their iconic moments were improvised. Christopher Walken stole every scene in his signature style as the patriarch of the Cleary family. Bradley Cooper launched into stardom playing the ultimate douche. Will Ferrell made an absurd cameo as a funeral crasher. Every man in America developed a crush on Rachel McAdams and Isla Fisher. Vaughn, Wilson, Ferrell, and Wilson’s brother Luke formed the core of the Frat Pack that collaborated in other classics like Zoolander, Old School, and Anchorman.
The premise was debaucherous, but the message wholesome. Partying and one night stands grow tiresome for the crasher duo. They end up falling in love and getting married. After Wedding Crashers, the quality of and demand for comedy movies crashed. Political correctness stifled writers’ rooms and turned comedy into clapter. Streaming and podcasts offered funnier alternatives at home. Movie ticket prices skyrocketed to the point where it’s only worth it to see action movies with special effects on the big screen.
On its 20th birthday, we raise a toast to Wedding Crashers. It will always be the greatest movie about one of the best days of our lives. A time capsule of a fun, happy, and irreverent America. Let’s carry on its legacy every wedding season. Go to every wedding you are invited to because they remind you what life is all about. Mingle with the oldest and youngest wedding guests. Don’t forget to sign the guest book. And hit the dance floor hard. SHOUT!
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A great movie. I saw it in theaters twice. Society is too uptight for comedies anymore and Hollywood is too busy pandering to foreign audiences and comedy doesn't translate.
I'd say the last great comedy that wouldn't be made today is Tropic Thunder. Ben Stiller recently came out and said they couldn't make Tropic Thunder today. But he was also out endorsing Kamala and is totally clueless to the fact he helped bring in the culture that no longer produces comedies.
As someone who invited himself to a whole lot of parties for twenty+ years before Wedding Crashers came out I could totally relate. Even found my way into parties of the wealthy and famous, including a Super Bowl victory party with just team members and their families. The shots I did with those guys, including a HOF quarterback legend and his receivers! Memories. Act like you belong wherever you are - all about the confidence!
A few years ago I was on a date at an upscale restaurant/bar on the beach. The bar area upstairs we planned to go dancing at was closed for a private party. Sounded like a blast. I wanted to see if I still had it. While eating in the restaurant below I called the restaurant, asked about the reservation like I was a guest running late. The hostess offered up the name the party was under. My date and I finished eating about 30 minutes later, went to the front where the elevator to the top was, started walking towards it like we belonged. The doorman said it was a private party, I said we were with it, gave the name the hostess shared with me a half-hour earlier. He stepped aside, and up we went in the elevator and realized it was a wedding party we were crashing! Right out of the movie! Free booze everywhere, we were poured champagne the rest of the night, danced, sung along, big fun. Didn't know a soul.
I still got it! And my date is now my mate!! 😁😁😁