The Wedding Singer (1998)

Movie Info

So…what’s the over/under odds we hook up by the end of the film…just sayin’

Robbie Hart (Adam Sandler) is a wedding sing who believes in true and forever love.  This leaves Robbie crushed when his fiancée Linda (Angela Featherstone) leaves him at the altar.  Robbie meets a girl named Julia Sullivan (Drew Barrymore) who is planning to get married to Glenn Gulia (Matthew Glaven).  When Robbie finds himself falling in love with Julia, he questions if he could have finally found his love…but she’s already taken by a man who doesn’t deserve her.

Directed by Frank Coraci, The Wedding Singer is a romantic comedy that first united frequent costars Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler.  The ’80s themed comedy received positive reviews and became a massive box-office hit.

Both Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler were hot commodities when The Wedding Singer was released.  It was a great blend of comedy and romance that was able to bring in both men and women for a rather nice story.

Nothing is funnier than old people rapping (or not)

Adam Sandler primarily had survived on loud and more physical comedies like Happy Gilmore and Billy Madison.  Here, it is a much softer Sandler that isn’t resorting to the loud, yelling comedy.  The softer Sandler is combined with the likable Drew Barrymore who was still working to put her bad girl period behind her but had met success with movies like Boys on the Side and Scream…the result is a romantic comedy with wide appeal.

The movie also has a number of great smaller supporting roles.  Christine Taylor plays Julia’s cousin Holly and Allen Covert has the “best friend” role for Robbie.  Alexis Arquette plays Robbie’s gender bending “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me” singing bandmate and Ellen Albertine Dow is a scene stealer as Robbie’s elderly student Rosie.  The movie also features cameos by Steve Buscemi, Kevin Nealon, Jon Lovitz, and Billy Idol playing himself.

Billy Idol, if this is you in the ’80s it must have been a hell of a bender last night.

Unlike a lot of other Sandler movies, the movie is more joke based than physical comedy.  Many of the jokes however come from the ’80s setting.  The styles, the hair, and the music all add to this and often provide jokes (like Rubik Cube, Van Halen jokes, etc.).  It is an easy laugh but in 1997, the ’80s were ripe for humor since it hadn’t been hit on much.

The Wedding Singer isn’t a great film, but it is a nice film.  It is a relatively harmless romantic comedy that both men and women can enjoy.  With so many ’80s themed movies and TV shows now, the concept of the movie is a bit dated, but it was one of the first to look back on the decade.  Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler became a bit of a comic duel after this appearing in 50 First Dates in 2004 and Blended in 2014.

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