‘Crashers’ a wedding blast

I can’t remember the last time I laughed this hard at the movies.

For all its raunchiness and, “The Wedding Crashers” is a goofy

comedy about two buddies who have made a successful career of

crashing weddings in order to score with the ladies. (“It’s like

fishing with dynamite,” one remarks.) It also showcases the daft

comedic sensibilities of stars Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson.

John (Wilson) and Jeremy (Vaughn) are glib Washington divorce

mediators, but still frat boys at heart. Handsome and with an

abundance of good-natured charm, they giddily make the rounds through

“wedding season,” and we witness their greatest hits in a terrific

opening montage.

It’s no small feat to make John and Jeremy likable, when we should

really be cringing. For them, it’s not just about the chase -- they

actually seem to relish every aspect of a big wedding, from the

buffet to swapping stories with the old-timers. And what woman

wouldn’t be charmed at the sight of a man dancing with the flower

girl or making balloon animals for the kids?

But finally, at the nuptials of the daughter of the treasury

secretary -- “It’s the Kentucky Derby of weddings!” -- the boys meet

their match in the Cleary siblings, Claire (Rachel McAdams) and

Gloria (Isla Fisher).

Gloria gets them invited for the weekend to the Cleary family

estate, where John tries to win Claire, and Jeremy actually tries to

avoid the nymphomaniac nut case Gloria.

Wilson and Vaughn reportedly improvised much of their dialogue,

and Vaughn’s rapid-fire delivery sometimes left me gasping for

breath.

Fisher nearly steals her scenes with Vaughn, and that’s no easy

task. Christopher Walken, as U.S. Treasury Secretary Cleary, was

uncharacteristically low-key -- you kept waiting for him to go a

little crazy, too.

“Crashers” is not without its flaws. The foul-mouthed grandma and

the cameo appearance by Will Ferrell are over-the-top and not very

funny. And a little schmaltz does creep in, especially at the final

wedding scene -- Wilson shouldn’t try to do Hugh Grant.

But overall, these crashers get a very welcome reception.

* SUSANNE PEREZ lives in Costa Mesa and is an executive assistant

for a financial services company.

‘Chocolate’ sweet

and appealing

We’ve all heard the story of the poor and less fortunate family

that gets the opportunity of a lifetime, usually to the benefit of a

child. It’s one of those stories that has been used millions of times

in Hollywood, like Horatio Alger’s most infamous “rags to riches”

stories.

But do not let this seemingly formulaic approach to filmmaking

affect what is and what isn’t a good film.

Let it be known that my intentions are not to belittle the great

works of one of the most beloved children’s authors, Roald Dahl, but

to expose some Hollywood trickery.

Although “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” does, in one way or

another, fit the description of a movie formula reproduced in

variation a million times over, the intellectually creative

integration of actor and director -- somewhat scarce in the world of

movies today -- successfully creates the originality of this film.

Johnny Depp plays the mysterious and idiosyncratic Willy Wonka.

One could argue that Depp is one of the most versatile actors of our

time.

His roles in “Edward Scissorhands,” “Pirates of the Caribbean” and

“Sleepy Hollow” demonstrate that.

Director Tim Burton is an inventor, a man who perceives ideas from

a different set of eyes, a man who will try anything once, as

evidenced by his past work.

It seems there is a great degree of adaptability here between what

the director wants and what the actor has to offer.

And as a result, the introspective visions of Depp and Burton are

fused together on the screen, where a marvelous collaboration of

reality and fantasy is painted.

Despite what has been depicted as “Charlie and the Chocolate

Factory” in the past, this film goes beyond what we know of Charlie

and especially Willy Wonka. Although maintaining a relatively

consistent tone with previous portrayals, this movie exposes Willy

Wonka in a new light.

It is brought to the audience’s attention that Willy is the son of

a bitter dentist who wouldn’t allow his son to eat chocolate. Aside

from Wonka’s past, the origin of the Oompa Loompas is also revealed

through flashbacks that occur throughout the duration of the film.

And in the end, the film turns out to be more about Willy Wonka

than it is about Charlie and his happiness. As a viewer, I found this

twist rather appealing.

With this technique, one can see the dramatic and literal

interpretation Burton brings to the story.

Through this interpretation, the viewer can see that the film is

more about the separation of emotion and the mind than Willy Wonka

and his chocolate factory, although this is definitely one of the

keys to the story on a conscious level.

“Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” serves as a masterful

clarification of what the original story was supposed to accomplish.

However, there are some new additions that not only add flavor to the

meaning, but provide more than is expected.

* SARA SALAM, is a student at Corona del Mar High School.