The Wedding Singer (1998)

Originally Reviewed 

Saturday September 30, 2006

It always amazes me that Adam Sandler films can gross so much money and for the most part be completely stupid (as discussed in the recent I Just Don't Get It! post). Don't get me wrong I actually find quite a few of his films somewhat enjoyable and fun to watch, but honestly most of them are pretty lame. It also amazes me that Sandler can make so much money off these films without a whole lot of acting ability, he's a hyper and goofy guy who he gets paid big bucks to make silly films with his buddies who have even less talent than he does.

Personally I think Adam Sandler has lost it and I think people are finally starting to get tired of his same old shtick, although they still pay to see his films, so why should he care. Sandler was the funniest in his heyday with films like Billy Madison, Happy Gilmore, The and Waterboy; sure these were all corny but they were hilarious... now Sandler is simply corny with bombs like The Longest Yard. But add The Wedding Singer to the short list of films that extremely corny but entertaining.

The Wedding Singer takes place in the mid-80's, probably the era of some of pop cultures greatest music (and films). Adam Sandler plays Robbie Hart; a wannabe rock star turned wedding singer. Everything seems to be going well in Robbie's life, he's got a relatively secure job that he enjoys and is about to get married. But things begin to turn sour when his bride-to-be leaves him standing alone at the alter. Turns out his girlfriend couldn't go through with marrying him because she was ashamed of what he was... a wedding singer.

This rejection sends Robbie into a mental breakdown, as he now has a personal hatred of weddings. Needless to say he's not in the best career for that kind of attitude so his first job after the breakup doesn't go too well. In the meantime Robbie turns to Julia (Drew Barrymore) for friendship. Julia recently moved into town and got a job as a waitress in the establishment where Robbie performs. With Robbie not in the mood to do weddings anymore Julia is rather disappointed because she is about to get married and wanted him to sing at her wedding.

Julia's fiancée is a real loser and is constantly cheating on her behind her back. Robbie finds out about this but has fallen in love with Julia and can't bear to ruin her happiness by telling her he's a "jerk-off". But deep down Julia knows her fiancée isn't the right one when she begins to fall for Robbie as well. The problem is there are so many obstacles thrown their way that seem destined to keep them apart. Will either one of them find true happiness?

The Wedding Singer is definitely a unique film, if anything you can give Sandler credit for doing films that are completely out of the box and somewhat strange. While the basic plot of the story is not new the whole wedding singer thing I have never seen done before. From what I can tell Sandler actually performs all the songs and doesn't have that bad of a voice for singing 80's tunes, combined with an awesome soundtrack it almost makes it worth watching for the music alone.

In the end, The Wedding Singer ranks among Sandler's best films. It's fun, it's entertaining and it brings back a lot of memories of the 80's which probably for the most part are better left as memories. The acting isn't great, and the story isn't very new, but the music and the characters really make up for most of that and bring a little bit of freshness to a stale story. If you enjoy Adam Sandler movies you'll more than likely get a kick out of this one, if you think he's an idiot and can't stand him then you probably won't. I have seen this film probably two or three times now and airplane scene at the end of the film is still by far my favorite part of the film and definitely a classic movie moment!

8/10