Once again, I have been foiled and my high expectations have landed at the doorstep of that wicked place called disappointment. The Wedding Crashers promised to be hilarious with the vivaciously talented Vince Vaughn as Jeremy and the more understated Owen Wilson as the almost straight man John. There were some laughs - - some big laughs - - but this was not a real comedy, more of a romantic comedy with a nearly serious undertone (tested friendship, deception, morals) that these guys could not pull off.

Jeremy and John are divorce mediators and professional wedding crashers. With the how-to manual handed down from Chaz the premier crasher, the guys have years of weddings and girls under their proverbial belts. It is John who first starts to feel a twinge of doubt as to the integrity of their “work”, but that has only arisen after a decade or so of crashing. As a wedding season finale, Jeremy convinces John to join him in the ultimate crash at the wedding of the daughter of Treasury Secretary John McCleary (Christopher).

All is going well until John meets Claire (Rachel), the bride’s younger sister, and realizes that his crashing days are over because he is falling in love. Jeremy turns on the charm with Gloria (Isla), the youngest sister, and ends up sleeping with her while the reception is still in progress. When the guys are invited to spend the weekend with the family, which is definitely breaking one of the crash rules, things really get out of control.

Jeremy discovers that Gloria is crazy and John finds himself in competition with Claire’s boyfriend Sack (Bradley) who is also crazy and pretty violent. Additionally, in the host of characters are the senile Grandma Mary (Ellen) who swears that Eleanor Roosevelt was a “big dyke”; brother Todd (Keir) the misunderstood, gay artist who believes Jeremy wants him; and Mrs. Cleary (Jane) who just had her boobs done and wants someone to feel her up. With this combination, The Wedding Crashers should be pretty amusing, but it isn’t, at least not consistently.

As I reflect on the movie, I do chuckle at many of the scenes, but for some reason I just was not as entertained as I thought I should have been. There were definitely humorous moments, but changing course (nearly genres) midstream almost never works. This movie was not an exception to that rule and I left feeling a bit let down.