(R, 127 minutes)

four stars

Honestly, I should see more foreign language films. Every time I commit to a foreign film, I walk away with a greater appreciation for cinema. Maybe it’s the extra emphasis on story or character, or maybe it’s just seeing a story being told from a different perspective than I’m used to. Amélie, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Y Tu Mamá También are thoughtful, cinematic experiences that I would recommend to anyone precisely because they tell stories with a vision and style missing from most American productions. Even when watching a less-than-perfect foreign film (for example, the French gay film Come Undone), I leave the theater a little more open to worlds and cultures different from my own. The Edukators (released in 2004 in Germany) will certainly leave you thinking about the culture we live in currently; the one that involves money, greed and excess.

Jule, a part-time activist and waitress, is evicted from her flat when she is unable to pay her rent and debts, forcing her to temporarily move in with her boyfriend, Peter. Peter’s flat-mate, Jan, is secretly doing his own piece of activism late at night with the help of Peter. They break into mansions, not to steal, but to rearrange valuables, furniture and items of sentimental value. To make their point, the only evidence left behind is a note that reads, “Your days of plenty are numbered.”

When an impromptu break-in of Jule’s creditor goes afoul, the film takes a sharp turn, testing Jan, Peter and Jule’s own principles when they are forced into a kidnapping.

Set in a dark, bleak Berlin, The Edukators is a very message-heavy story, so there’s no worry you’ll miss the point. When all revolutionary thought has been accepted into the mainstream, how do you start a revolution? When Che Guevara T-shirts are symbols of pop culture instead of a call to arms, what can you do to get your voice heard? Why did the cultural revolution of the ’60s fail and what happened to those people? Capitalism, but really idealism, is challenged on several levels, all of which point to opposing answers that the main characters struggle to reconcile.

Never predictable and often analytical, The Edukators is a fascinating take on standing up for your beliefs in a society saturated with television and pop culture. The ending, being billed as a surprise, is far from shocking; however, it’s true and honest to the characters and the story.

The main problem is too much time spent on the “message,” which causes the film to venture into overkill territory. Regardless, the story and film are 95-percent better than anything you’ll see in an American film this year.

Finally making it state-side after a year of touring the world’s top film festivals, The Edukators never assumes its protagonists are perfect, and in the end they’re the ones who have been educated the most.

(One week only at Landmark’s Ken Cinema, Aug. 12-19.)

(R, 119 minutes)

three stars

R-rated comedies seemed to be heading to extinction last year, with the box office failures of The Girl Next Door, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle and Team America: World Police. Even with positive reviews, those films failed to connect with audiences, partly because the audience in the theater was restricted to adults and children with their parents. While all three films became successful on DVD (thanks to their “unrated” DVD versions that offered extra R-rated material), the general consensus in Hollywood was that R-rated films simply don’t make as much money as PG-13 films. In fact, with the exception of Beverly Hills Cop and There’s Something About Mary, there are no R-rated comedies in the U.S. top 100 (based on box office revenue). The message is hard to ignore when you’re with a studio looking to make money.

Luckily, there are exceptions to the trend, including this year’s fun, engaging The Wedding Crashers, starring Vince Vaughn, Owen Wilson, Christopher Walken and Rachel McAdams (The Notebook). The enjoyable part of The Wedding Crashers is that it doesn’t always go for the cheap laugh. There’s heart in the script, both for the main characters and for the laughable journey they’re on.

John (Vaughn) and Jeremy (Wilson) are habitual wedding crashers, using the event as a sure-fire way to pick up girls for one- night stands. It’s the highlight of their life, and when they go, they not only win over the girls, they win over the entire wedding party with their charm and well-orchestrated lies.

When the wedding of a Cabinet-level secretary’s daughter comes up, John and Jeremy see a wedding that would be the pinnacle of their “crashing” ways. In comes the secretary’s other two daughters (and, as luck would have it, the secretary’s gay son), and John and Jeremy get caught up in something a little more serious than they expected.

As with most comedies, the people you are supposed to like tend to be the ones who are the most difficult to warm up to because they’re so unredeemable. Vaughn and Wilson are a great comedic combo, often delivering lines that feel unscripted and full of energy. Their characters, while still cartoonish in design, have a nice warmth to them. They never mean any harm, and try so hard to do the right thing even when that requires significant suffering on their part.

Another key trait to a comedy is the supporting cast, which often brings out the biggest laughs. Jane Seymour (“Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman”) plays against type as the oversexed, needy wife of the secretary, with her heart set on Wilson’s character even as he courts her very own daughter.

As if the family isn’t odd enough, the secretary’s gay son (played so over the top by the actor that it actually works) has a crush on Vaughn’s character and will do anything to get some alone time with him (ropes are involved).

Vaughn and Wilson are loosely connected to an unnamed comedy team that includes Ben Stiller, Jack Black and Will Ferrell, and as in past films, there is a nice cameo from one of the members (in this case, Ferrell). That the actual cameo is funny is a bonus, because the plot point that involves Ferrell is totally unnecessary to the story.

The Wedding Crashers has heart, which is something that is often missing from R-rated comedies. With that being said, the film does venture down some predictable territory in the third act, executed in a way that is sloppy and lacks focus. It does come together fairly well in the end, but the route taken feels overly complicated and tedious. Vaughn and Wilson are the real stars, and we can only hope for more projects from these two in the future. The Wedding Crashers is the year’s best and funniest comedy.