Blu-ray Movie Reviews

John (Owen Wilson) and Jeremy (Vince Vaughn) are best friends who look forward to that special time of year where people gather to be with their families. No, not the holiday season—wedding season! Guided by the closely guarded set of "wedding crashing rules," the pair descend on as many Washington D.C. weddings they can during the season to romance unsuspecting bridesmaids.

This is one of my favorite comedies of the decade, and I've watched it numerous times over the past three years. The chemistry between Wilson and Vaughn is outstanding, and Christopher Walken's portrayal of the borderline psychotic Secretary of the Treasury is hilarious. The disc includes both the theatrical and "uncorked" versions, but I prefer the former because it doesn't drag as much during the second act.

The VC-1 encode delivers a satisfying picture with consistent contrast and solid black levels. Color reproduction is a step up over the previous DVD release with strong primaries. Detail is very good, although some of the longer sweeping shots are a bit soft compared to the razor-sharp close-ups. While not a reference release by any measure, it’s an upgrade over the DVD.

The Dolby TrueHD 5.1 soundtrack is very front-loaded with the surround speakers used mainly for ambient effects. Dialog is clearly intelligible, and the front soundstage never sounds compressed. The soundtrack contains popular wedding songs—big surprise—which are the highlight of the audio presentation.

The special features include two separate commentaries—one with stars Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn and the other with director David Dobkin. Other supplements include deleted scenes, a making-of featurette, the "Rules of Wedding Crashing," a music video, and a couple of trailers—all in standard definition.

Wedding Crashers was my favorite comedy of 2005, and it delivers a solid presentation on Blu-ray. Recommended for fans.

Release Date: December 30, 2008

Movie: 8/10
Picture: 8/10
Sound: 8/10

Review System

Source
Panasonic DMP-BD55

Display
JVC DLA-RS1 projector
Stewart FireHawk screen (76.5" wide, 16:9)

Electronics
Onkyo Pro PR-SC885 pre/pro
Anthem PVA-7 Amplifier
Belkin PF60 power conditioner

Speakers
M&K S-150s (L, C, R)
M&K SS-150s (LS, RS, SBL, SBR)
SVS PC-Ultra subwoofer

Cables
Monoprice HDMI cables (source to pre/pro)
Best Deal analog-audio cables
PureLink HDC Fiber Optic HDMI Cable System (15 meters) from pre/pro to projector

Acoustical treatments from GIK Acoustics