McCain gets an R rating

Senator, author, presidential candidate and now movie star -- Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is set to make his feature film debut in “Wedding Crashers.” And not since Richard Nixon appeared on “Laugh-In” has politics made a stranger set of bedfellows.

The New Line film, which opens Friday, follows the exploits of two divorce mediators and self-satisfied Lotharios, played by Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn, as they charm their way into one wedding after another. Their goal: to bed bridal attendants whose inhibitions have been worn down, presumably by champagne, tight shoes and bridal envy. In one montage, Vaughn and Wilson are seen throwing down one giggling and scantily clad woman after another.

Not exactly the butter scene in “Last Tango in Paris,” but a bit racier than, say, Nora Ephron. And perhaps not the most predictable showcase for the film debut of a former presidential candidate who five years ago conducted Senate hearings in which he personally took Hollywood to task for the preponderance of R-rated films.

McCain, then chairman of the Senate’s Commerce Committee, was focused on violence, rather than sex, and the overt marketing of R-rated films and games to an under-17 audience. Still, the irony ranked high enough to get the obligatory shot from the Drudge Report.

McCain is not exactly a Hollywood virgin. Three years ago, he hosted “Saturday Night Live,” and for years he has been trying to get a movie made of his autobiography, “Faith of My Fathers.” So when director David Dobkin wanted some recognizable inner-Beltway faces to add heft to the main wedding scene -- that of a senator’s daughter -- McCain was an obvious choice. Wilson called the senator, as well as political consultant James Carville, and they agreed to do non-credited cameos.

Eileen McMenamin, McCain’s communications director, said when the senator signed on, he understood the film would be rated PG-13. Dobkin tried, but after test audiences found the “raunchy bits” the funniest, the studio decided to live with the R.

The decision did not bother McCain, who has touted his role publicly in recent weeks. “The senator has not seen the movie,” said McMenamin. “He agreed to do the cameo role for a fee, which he donated to charity.”