From the first time they co-starred in a movie, it’s been clear to viewers that Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn share an on-screen chemistry that can only be based on true friendship and not something made up in Hollywood.
In fact, some have gone so far as to call Wilson and Vaughn’s relationship a “bromance.”
In their first film together, 2005’s “Wedding Crashers,” Wilson and Vaughn, ages 44 and 43 respectively, play friends who show up uninvited to weddings hoping to pick up women who are like emotional putty on their faces. hands after seeing another woman get married before them. . That film grossed $209 million and had audiences laughing in theaters across the country for months after its initial release.
Their second production together, “The Internship,” premiered in the spring of 2013 and depicts them as middle-aged salespeople who, having lost their jobs, try to win internships at Google. The film provides plenty of opportunities for the duo to shine as they are portrayed as disconnected from modern technology to the point where they have no idea how woefully disconnected they are.
Both movies prominently feature the actors’ hilarious banter, which fans of their movies know and love. Wilson and Vaughn, who met over dinner with a mutual acquaintance, Ben Stiller, attribute their retorts to a real-life knack for making each other laugh, as well as two competitive streaks that perpetuate one-liners.
This is evident in “The Internship” as its characters come together to overcome the irrelevance of their pop culture and save themselves from a future where they can’t afford the basics, let alone the good life. Their chemistry is most apparent in scenes where the two, by teaming up to avoid irrelevance, conspire to outdo their younger, smarter competitors.
Wilson and Vaughn are members of the informal acting group, The Frat Pack, which includes male actors who were successful in their fields in the 1990s and early 2000s. Most of the Frat Pack members tend to play comedic roles. . Wilson and Vaughn are no exceptions.
Born and raised in Texas, Wilson was one of the most prominent actors on the Austin independent film scene in the mid-1990s. After spending several years making arthouse films, he transitioned into screenwriting. with the films “Rushmore” and “The Royal Tenenbaums”.
His first big commercial break came with Jackie Chan’s “Shanghai Noon,” a buddy action movie released in 2000. The following year, Wilson played a role in Stiller’s cult classic “Zoolander.”
Wilson returned to the buddy movie genre with “I Spy” in 2002, followed by “Shanghai Knights” in 2003 and a remake of the TV series “Starsky & Hutch” in 2004.
Although known primarily as a comedic actor, Wilson received critical acclaim for his role in Woody Allen’s “Midnight in Paris,” released in 2011. In total, Wilson’s films have grossed more than $2.25 billion in North America.
Meanwhile, Vaughn began acting in the late 1980s, first appearing in television commercials and minor roles in television series. He gained industry recognition with his role in the 1996 film “Swingers.” Since then, Vaughn has appeared in a variety of films, including “The Lost World: Jurassic Park,” “Starsky & Hutch,” “The Cell” , “The Break Up”, “Old School” and “The Dilemma”. His notable dramatic role was in Sean Penn’s “Into the Wild,” an adaptation of Jon Krakauer’s book.
Yet it’s the buddy comedies, like “Wedding Crashers” and “The Internship,” that set Wilson and Owen apart. In fact, in a Los Angeles Times review of “Wedding Crashers,” Carina Chocano wrote, “Underneath the diarrhea jokes, the long lens close-up of Vaughn’s pants and handcuffs, it’s really just a love story.” about a couple of friends living happily ever after. And it couldn’t have happened to a nicer, more charming couple.”
Although it has received mixed reviews from critics, “The Internship” has received positive reviews in regards to Wilson and Vaughn’s synergy, with some critics stating that their chemistry is enough to carry the film through and through and may even be the only one. element that saves her. . One critic in particular compared Wilson and Vaughn to Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin, whose films, he wrote, were mediocre. However, as with Lewis and Martin, Wilson and Vaughn draw viewers who enjoy watching them go against each other.
Another factor in their on-screen chemistry, Wilson and Vaughn say, is that they each have children around the same age. As a result, his observations on child development and experiences in raising his children contribute to their comedic relationship.