The Frat Pack and Such

The movie choices this week were Meet the Fockers and Ocean's 12. JM and I thoroughly enjoyed Meet the Fockers, though I don't think it was as good as the first. People had told me that it rivaled Meet the Parents, but I really don't agree. It definitely lived up the the hype, but it wasn't as good. Maybe I was just tired.
One of the best parts of the movie was the horn on the RV. I need it for my car! Life is not complete until you have a horn that plays Puff the Magic Dragon. I also liked Owen Wilson's cameo and I can't believe that no one had told me about it. Like my brother-in-law letting it slip about the Frat Packers' cameos in Anchorman. I was very happy when I when I saw Owen. JM was surprised that I got so excited over an actor that wasn't Vince Vaughn. What can I say, I love all the Frat Pack guys, not just VV.
Speaking of Vince Vaughn (I find myself saying that a lot), he and Owen are going to be on Ellen on Thursday promoting The Wedding Crashers. Crazy since the movie doesn't come out until July, but hey I will take all the Vince I can get!
I find the whole "Frat Pack" concept very cool. I read an article on Christine's site from the New York Times (http://www.vince-vaughn.com/archives/2005_03.htm scroll down the March 26th) about them and their new way of doing comedy in Hollywood. Basically, the guys, their managers, producers, and a few directors (under their own production companies like Stiller's Red Hour) come up with a concept, write the script, get all their friends to be in it, then do table readings to sell it to the studios. The studios don't have to do a whole lot except buy the movies. VV had a quote that wasn't necessarily in reference to this idea, but it goes along the same lines. He said that a lot of comedies are made because studios are trying to figure out what people will think is funny rather than because they are actually funny. I think that's where the Frat Pack's success lies, they have a good eye for what is funny. The Dodgeball commentary goes into the difficult process of shopping the movie and how a lot of studios thought that no one would want to see a movie about dodgeball. It's a perfect example of how the Frat Pack understands comedy so much better than the studio big wigs. I'd be interested to know what you all think about the whole thing. Let me know.