Wedding Crashers (2005)

Rule number one: never leave a fellow crasher behind. This week we're suiting up, picking a fake name, and crashing Wedding Crashers (2005) — the wildly funny, endlessly rewatchable, R-rated comedy that didn't just dominate the summer of 2005, it permanently changed the economics of adult comedy in Hollywood and gave us one of the greatest big-screen comedic pairings of the entire decade.Directed by David Dobkin, the film follows divorce mediators and lifelong best friends John Beckwith (Owen Wilson) and Jeremy Grey (Vince Vaughn) — who spend every wedding season crashing receptions across the DC area to eat free food, drink free booze, and inevitably charm their way into the beds of unsuspecting wedding guests. Their carefully constructed world comes crashing down when they infiltrate the wedding of the year — the daughter of Treasury Secretary William Cleary (Christopher Walken) — and John falls genuinely, helplessly in love with Claire (Rachel McAdams), while Jeremy gets latched onto by the unpredictably unhinged Gloria (Isla Fisher in a star-making performance). Bradley Cooper plays the villainous Sack Lodge. And Will Ferrell shows up uncredited as the legendary Chazz Reinhold — the original wedding crasher, now crashing funerals — in what might be the greatest cameo in 2000s comedy history.We're breaking down everything: the electric, lightning-in-a-bottle chemistry between Wilson and Vaughn that feels completely effortless, Isla Fisher's absolute scene-stealing performance, Christopher Walken being precisely as wonderfully strange as you'd expect Christopher Walken to be, the film's extraordinary opening wedding montage, and the staggering commercial legacy of a film that became the first R-rated comedy to earn over $200 million at the US box office and is credited alongside The 40-Year-Old Virgin with single-handedly reviving the adult R-rated comedy genre. We're also talking about the film's extraordinary launch pad effect — Wedding Crashers helped cement the star status of both Wilson and Vaughn while simultaneously launching the careers of Bradley Cooper and Isla Fisher — and how this movie fits into the peak Frat Pack era alongside Anchorman, Old School, and Dodgeball.Whether you're a 2000s comedy devotee, an Owen Wilson fanatic, a Vince Vaughn enthusiast, a Rachel McAdams fan, someone who quotes this movie constantly at weddings, a Isla Fisher admirer, or just a person who loves a comedy that makes you laugh until something comes out of your nose — this episode is for you.Topics covered: Wedding Crashers 2005 | Owen Wilson | Vince Vaughn | Rachel McAdams | Isla Fisher | Christopher Walken | Bradley Cooper | Will Ferrell cameo | Chazz Reinhold | David Dobkin | Frat Pack movies | best 2000s comedies | best R-rated comedies | best comedy movies ever | Will Ferrell uncredited cameo | Rachel McAdams early career | Isla Fisher breakout role | Bradley Cooper early career | best buddy comedies | R-rated comedy box office | 2005 movies | best romantic comedies | wedding movies | comedy film history | movie review podcast | film analysis | best comedy duos | Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn | first R-rated comedy 200 million | best comedy cameos ever | Frat Pack era rankedSubscribe, rate, and leave us a review — and settle it: is the Will Ferrell cameo the greatest uncredited cameo in comedy history? And what's your favorite rule from the wedding crashers rulebook?YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/@RegularorMentholContact us: [email protected]