Frat-boy types who seek out this Owen Wilson–Vince Vaughn buddy comedy (on disc Jan. 3) will probably be disappointed by its pervasive sweetness. Those in search of warm-‘n’-fuzzy romance, on the other hand, may avert their eyes when a redheaded bridesmaid (Isla Fisher) gives Vaughn’s character an under-the-table hand job during dinner. Like the movie itself, the two DVD commentary tracks—one by Wilson and Vaughn, the other by director David Dobkin—feel aimless and don’t satisfy the way they should. That isn’t to say there aren’t funny bits, though.
Playing two lovable thirtysomething cads who don fake identities to crash weddings and sleep with bridesmaids (including Fisher), Vaughn and Wilson could be mocking their own exertions, separately and together, in five years’ worth of throwaway comedies— Starsky & Hutch, Shanghai Knights, Old School, Zoolander—in which their nominal roles mattered less than their comic chemistry and timing. “That’s why everyone bought a ticket, to see these two guys,” Dobkin admits. And they do make a great team. Wilson is the easygoing straight man, Vaughn the Woody Allen–inspired neurotic; and they’re a more believable couple—bickering incessantly, then saying “I love you” with their mouths full, so it’s barely audible—than any of the movie’s other match-ups. Where Dobkin talks about the current cynicism surrounding marriage and the impact romance has on friendship, Vaughn and Wilson offer behind- the-scenes tidbits. Vaughn fesses up to stealing his “ass-out hug” gag—about the awkward kiss that follows an awkward date—from Swingers screenmate Jon Favreau, while Wilson reveals the origin of “baba ganoush,” his character’s nickname for Vaughn’s (the culprit: Lebanese food at craft services).
On DVD, both the theatrical cut of Crashers and an “uncorked” version, with eight-and-a-half more minutes, are available; three-quarters through the latter, Vaughn and Wilson point out how hard it’ll be for them to fill the next half hour with commentary. Um, guys? Does that mean we don’t have to watch it?
BROKEN FLOWERS leads off the new-year parade (oddly without Bill Murray or Jim Jarmusch commentary), followed by The Cave, My Date With Drew, The Gospel, and the rather wrenching Israeli mother-daughter drama Or, My Treasure. Recuts and reissues include Dumb and Dumber, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, Snatch, and Evil Dead 2 for your new PSP player.
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