Hey, they both revolve around weddings

Sitting through Wedding Crashers this afternoon, I was struck. Struck by the musical score. The comic theme was lumbering and goofy. The dramatic theme was sobering, almost despondent. Both relied heavily on strings. In short, the score was symphonic -- which you wouldn't expect from a Frat Pack movie.

But it was also very familiar. The musical cues set off memory synapses, and my mind's eye produced an image of Jack Nicholson, glum, slackjawed, brooding. That was it. This is the same score as About Schmidt, I thought, or nearly the same. Two movies, polar opposites in tone and content, with the same score. Thieves, mongrels! Just wait til Rolfe Kent, that inventive composer for Sideways and all things Alexander Payne, gets wind of this!

Then the credits rolled and it was Kent who composed the music. Uh huh. Running out of ideas (and money), are we, Rolfe? Hey, it happens to the best of 'em. Just look at John Williams' score for the Harry Potter films -- it's a complete recycling of everything from E.T. to Hook to Jurassic Park. So, Rolfe, I'm looking forward to your work on the upcoming Witherspoon opus Just Like Heaven, which, God willing, will be an aural homage to Citizen Ruth.