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Wedding Crashers (2005)
Wedding Crashers (2005)
2005 | Comedy, Romance
In the tricky world of arbitration, John Beckwith (Owen Wilson) and Jeremy Grey (Vince Vaughn), are two of the best in their field. Day after day, John and Jeremy negotiate divorce settlements between many bitter and hostile clients in an attempt to avoid long and drawn out court cases.

As good as John and Jeremy are at mediation, this pales to their real talents as professional wedding crashers. John and Jeremy revel in their ability to crash weddings and in the process scoring all the food, drink and women they can handle as they move from one event to another with ease.

The actions of the two are based on a strict set of rules for crashing weddings that was passed down to Jeremy and have lead to many moments of merriment and debauchery for the duo. The rules are so detailed that everything from cover stories, ways to gain sympathy, and clues for gaining points with the guests are included.

After a very successful wedding season, John and Jeremy are set to take it easy for a while to recover from the barrage of seduction and partying they have subjected themselves to.

Alas, things do not go as planned as Jeremy convinces John to help him crash the wedding event of the year that will have a prominent political figure in attendance. Despite much reluctance, John goes along an in no time, the duo are at the social event of the year.

Eager to slip into their seduction modes, John and Jeremy have concocted their alibis and set their sites a pair of young ladies, Claire and Gloria Cleary (Rachael McAdams) and (Isla fisher). The two are the daughters of rising political figure Secretary Claire (Christopher Walken), who many think may be on the fast track to the Oval Office.

Things take a turn when John agrees to accompany Claire to an island retreat. Seeing the danger and eager to get away from the bizarre Gloria, Jeremy attempts to extricate himself from the situation.

Of course there would not be much of a film if this were to happen, and before long, John and Jeremy are surrounded by vicious boyfriends, over amorous suitors, and enough mayhem to keep the audience laughing.

The laughs come frequently and each situation becomes even more outrageous than the one that preceded it making for some of the most hilarious moments ever committed to film.

Sure the plot is very thing, but Wilson and Vaughn are enjoyable and if you do not mind some crude humor, you are likely to find yourself laughing along at one of the most pleasant comedic surprises of the year.
  
The Wedding Ringer (2015)
The Wedding Ringer (2015)
2015 | Comedy
8
6.3 (4 Ratings)
Movie Rating
When I first heard the title of this movie, I probably thought what 99% of the population thought… that sounds like The Wedding Singer. Without even knowing anything about the film I had this preconceived notion that it was about a jeweler for weddings who is the best jeweler in town! Sarcasm is so hard to convey, but picture the end of that last sentence dripping with it.

It seems like Kevin Hart is in everything these days. He is the big name to know, and on everyone’s short list (rim shot). But it’s for good reason. They guy is funny. So I had a little hope The Wedding Ringer. Especially when you partner him with Josh Gad, a person more commonly known for being the supporting actor. Who is still a supporting actor in this film, but you wouldn’t know it.

For those that don’t know, TWR is about Doug Harris (Gad), a bridegroom who finds himself in a little bit of a pickle. It’s 10 days before his wedding, and he still has yet to figure out how to tell Gretchen (Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting), his bride-to-be, that his Best Man, and entire wedding party, are entirely fictitious. Never fear, for Harris is lead to Jimmy Callahan (Hart), proprietor of The Best Man, Inc. Only Jimmy doesn’t know exactly what he’s getting into as he makes an attempt at the fabled “Golden Tuxedo”, a myth in the business of being able to provide a 7-man grooms party in 10 days. Hilarity and hijinks ensue.

This movie was far better than I imagined it would be. With edgy humor, and great cameo appearances, the film delivers. Not afraid to make inside jokes about the actors’ previous roles, and not focusing on racial humor that some may anticipate, the film did not disappoint. The chemistry between Hart and Gad was good. It wasn’t great, but you can tell there was some. Hearing Cuoco-Sweeting curse after watching her for years on network television was a bit of a shock at first, but it certainly seemed natural. It was just so hard to accept the fact that she played her character so well, being the opposite end of the spectrum from some of the things she is most known for.

As I mentioned earlier, there were some great cameos throughout the film. Without giving away the big surprises, be on the lookout for Josh Peck, Cloris Leachman, Mimi Rogers, Whitney Cummings and Jeffrey Ross (just to name a few). Surprisingly enough, the edgiest jokes did not even come from the main cast, but more the supporting actors. They did an excellent job of spreading the humor. And while soundtrack is not a huge focus for comedies, I thought it a nice touch that many of the selections were more than fitting for the scenes.

Was the movie formulaic? You betcha? I called the ending of the movie a mere 20 minutes in. Are all of the jokes original? No. There were some great ones that I have never heard before, and the ones that you’ve seen a lot were delivered in fresh, creative way. Is it a movie that’s going to win awards? Likely not, but it’s definitely worth checking out for date night.

Bottom line, the movie surpassed my expectations by a mile. It was nice to see a movie that doesn’t rely on the obvious jokes and humor you would expect given the cast and setting. This is definitely one that will be making its way into my collection when released for home viewing, and I may head out and take a gander at it again this weekend.
  
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Alison Pink (7 KP) rated Never Knowing in Books

Jan 15, 2018  
Never Knowing
Never Knowing
8
8.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
I won an ARC of this book from Goodreads. It is the story of Sara a 30 something adoptee who is getting married. Right off the bat she wants to look for her birth parents before her wedding. She finds her mom & eventually her dad. That's about all I can way without giving away the story.
It is told in a series of sessions as Sara is speaking to her therapist about what is going on in her life. It was an interesting perspecitve on things, though you never really hear any advice or thoughts from the therapist.
The ending was the hest part....didn't see it coming at all. The beginning was rather ho-hum, but as the story progresses you become sucked into the drama.
It did make me want to read Stevens's debut novel though. I really enjoy her writing style & well developed characters.
  
Seven Up (Stephanie Plum, #7)
Seven Up (Stephanie Plum, #7)
Janet Evanovich | 2001 | Thriller
6
6.9 (9 Ratings)
Book Rating
So far this has been my least favorite book in the Stephanie Plum series...but that is NOT to say I didn't enjoy it. Grandma getting kidnapped, Stephanie buying a wedding dress, mud wrestling. How can you not enjoy that!?
This followed the same formula as the previous novels. The background gets explained at some point which is nice for people who haven't read all the books, but it gets a little tedious when you read that Stephanie was laid off from her lingerie buyer job for the 100th time. But I suppose that's just nit-picking.
That being said, I'm not sure what it was about this book that made it less likable than the previous 6. I guess ti boils down to the fact that I didn't feel quite as caught up in the plot of this as I did in the others.
  
SB
Something Blue (Darcy & Rachel, #2)
Emily Giffin | 2006 | Fiction & Poetry
8
8.6 (7 Ratings)
Book Rating
I read Something Borrowed 2 years ago, and after seeing the movie again recently, I decided to pick up this book. I didn't expect it to go in the direction that it did. I was hoping that the story would focus on Rachel and Dex, but instead, Darcy was the focus of this book.

After ending her relationship with Dex and Rachel. After calling off her wedding and finding out she is pregnant, Darcy has some big decisions to make. Marcus, the one she cheated on Dex with is the father of her children and while things with him should just fall into place, it's not working out that way.

So Darcy plans a trip to England to "visit" her childhood friend, Ethan. While there, she discovers a lot of things about Ethan, about herself, and about her relationships with others. She grows in ways she never thought that she would.
  
Sabrina and Henry have taken on a new villa, and the first event at this villa is a big wedding that they are helping coordinate. However, when family strife turns to murder of the bride-to-be, Sabrina finds herself once again playing detective to prove that she isn’t negligent in the murder of another customer.

I enjoyed the first in this series only a couple of months ago, so the characters were still fresh in my mind. It was absolutely wonderful to be back in their presence. The new cast are just as strong, and the conflict they provide keeps the pages turning until we reach the logical end. I read the book in two days, I just couldn’t put it down.

NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.

Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2016/10/book-review-permanent-sunset-by-c.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
  
After her second disastrous wedding happened without her getting married, Eva Knox retreated to her family’s plantation in Georgia. She’s hardly been back a week before she stumbles over a dead body in the olive grove. With the local gossip insisting she knows what happened, Eva starts poking around to figure out what really happened. Can she clear her name?

This debut was definitely a mixed bag. The plot had some nice twists and nice twists on the cozy formula, which I appreciated. On the other hand, Eva sometimes was just handed the information she needed or acted very stupidly to get it. Some characters were interesting while others are very cliche. If the premise sounds interesting, give it a shot, but it won’t be for everyone.

Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2016/11/book-review-one-foot-in-grove-by-kelly.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.