The enduring popularity of The Wedding Movie is in no small part sympathetic. Who hasn’t shared the ride of emotion from date to wedding day shackled to the gruelling marathon of family (yours and theirs)? And that as an observer. Consequently, movies exploring Life’s Greatest Spectacle will always find their market and The Wedding Crashers is no exception. In a turnaround from standard rom-com fare, our womanising anti-heroes crash weddings to eat, drink and get laid. Sensing John (Owen Wilson) is finding their game a touch adolescent, Jeremy (Vince Vaughn) talks him into one last spin around the parquet floor. Their target is a noted Senator (Christopher Walken) and all goes well until John falls for his daughter and Jeremy is stalked by a serial nutcase (Isla Fisher).

Hiding deep inside The Wedding Crashers is a tremendous comedy. There are more than enough ideas to make an acute, ninety minute farce from the ribald, distinctly adult script. There’s an undertow of Meet The Parents, for parents, with priceless scenes like Jeremy being jacked off at a family dinner. It’s a perfect vehicle for the over-caffeinated Vaughn, and Fisher whose comic timing is masterful (if you see this woman at a singles bar, leave!). Yet the confused direction reveals David Dobkin (Shanghai Knights) is unable to juggle all the elements he’s introduced and by Act 3, his balls are dropping. This is the movie equivalent of an airport disaster. After prolonged taxiing in which excitement is eventually ground down by repetition, the film finally leaves the runway only to crash on take-off. Enjoy your pre-flight drink, but get out before they arm the door and cross-check. // COLIN FRASER