The thing about Punk’d that makes it compulsively watchable — that which causes you to forsake better judgment and absorb three, four, six installments before realizing your morning has given way to late afternoon — is simple, really. Its “secret,” as it were, is that it’s got a few “secrets.” On one hand, it lifts the Candid Camera model — which, thanks to that most dependable of human traits, schadenfreude (the German word for the dark part of your soul that makes you laugh at stuff like this and this), will never, if done well, go out of style. On the other, celebrity targets ensure that the appeal is just as much about who’s getting “punk’d” as it is about what the “punking” entails. Finally, there’s Kutcher himself, who, all male-modellin’, Demi-marryin’, Dude-Where’s-My-Car?-in’ aside, is a naturally charismatic dude (with considerable name recognition).

Kutcher’s second TV creation, Beauty and the Geek, has something of an interesting hook to it, too: brainy social maladroits + pretty girls of the variety that confuse extrasensory perception with a prominent, 24-hour sports network = social commentary and stereotype examination (with bikinis).

Kutcher and co. unveiled Idea Number Three Monday night: The Real Wedding Crashers (10/9c, NBC), which employs a crew of Punk’d-like pranksters to wreak carefully conceived havoc at the various stages of real couples’ weddings, in hopes of capturing the confused/angry/uncomfortable reactions of guests/friends/family. And before you go thinking the worst: The bride and groom are in on it, selected from a pile of audition tapes sent by hopeful sweethearts in search of a “one-of-a-kind” nuptial experience.

So, it’s Punk’d + weddings – Kutcher + a soft touch – celebrities.

Hmm.

Episode One concerns the would-be Duncans, Derek and Jonnie (the latter of whom is, indeed, female — they’re not going all progressive the first time out), a happy-seeming pair who’ve known each other since 13. The ceremony itself is our point of reference — as we’re introduced to the “marks,” we flash back to see how these poor folks have been screwed with: the pastor repeatedly flubs the bride’s name and stops to answer his cell phone during the ceremony; a distraught friend of the groom is convinced that he’s ruined the dress by allowing it to drag along the highway; another arrives to find that the wedding site is being fumigated and won’t be ready in time; the groom is “arrested” in front of a stunned best man; the waiter sucks; one (faux) guest’s a grandmaphile; the cake, of course, eats it.

The “Crashers” themselves are dedicated, adept at that crucial wide-eyed-and-innocent look, though I didn’t immediately warm to any in particular. The narration’s a bit too jokey, and while the gags are mostly quite good, some of the material smacks a bit of filler, and there seems to be some energy lacking. I’m not sold on Crashers, but I certainly laughed; it may be worth a second look. We’ll see.

(Kudos to me for not making a “long-term commitment” pun, no?)

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Brian Villalobos lives in Austin, Texas (practically), writes on film and TV, and totally cried at Stuart Little.

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