THE WEDDING SINGER (1998)

THE WEDDING SINGER (1998)

Tagline: Before the internet, Before cell phones, Before roller-blades, There was a time... 1985. Don't pretend you don't remember.

(Comedy, Music, 80’s Awesomeness) [PG-13]

Hey, psycho - we're not gonna discuss this, OK, it's over. Please get out of my Van Halen t-shirt before you jinx the band and they break up.

In this one, the year is 1985, and wedding singer Robbie Hart (played by Adam Sandler best known for BILLY MADISON) is getting ready to marry Linda. The wedding is suddenly stopped due to Linda not showing up. Meanwhile, Julia Sullivan who works with Robbie and is soon to be married to this guy Glenn reaches out to a grieving Robbie to help her with wedding plans. He agrees and hijinks ensue. 

First off, I was kind of shocked to find out this actually isn’t a “Happy Madison” production. It’s got a lot of the mainstays from the “Happy Madison” films, but “Happy Madison” came into being a year after this was released. All in all, including this one, Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore (who plays Julia in this) have been involved in 3 movies together. They were also in 50 FIRST DATES and BLENDED. 

The storyline for most of Adam Sandler’s movies are not convoluted at all. They are actually pretty simplistic and that is part of what I like about them. I also tend to prefer Sandler’s less raunchy films like this one, BILLY MADISON, THE WATERBOY, and MR. DEEDS over some of his other stuff. That isn’t to say that there isn’t a few bits of edgy humor in this. The chemistry between Adam Sandler and his leading ladies is palpable. I guess this has to do with his down-to-earth nature in real life. I have no idea, but to date, I have only heard good things about him. 

Strong points of this movie are the soundtrack because we get lots of blisteringly fantastic 80’s pop tracks and a few songs out of Robbie himself. One is "belly laugh" hysterical. The script is also amazing thoughtful and the characters are more dynamic and charming than you would expect. Carrie Fisher (best known for STAR WARS) actually spent 6 months helping with the script and giving some depth to Julia Sullivan’s character who was delightfully played by Drew Barrymore (most famous for FIRESTARTER).  

Acting-wise it’s hard not to like just about everyone but Glenn in this movie (played by  Matthew Glave). We get some cameos from Jon Lovitz and Steve Buscemi. Buscemi is one of my favorite actors of all time especially because of the Adam Sandler movies he’s been part of. Another cameo is done by Billy Idol who has only been in a few movies but plays himself in this. Robbie’s piano teacher “Rosie” in the movie is played by Ellen Albertini Dow who was 85 when the movie was filmed. She went on acting after that until 2013 (another 14 years). Christine Taylor plays Holly Sullivan, Julia’s sister, and does a pretty decent job in this. The first movie I saw her in was THE BRADY BUNCH MOVIE where she actually played Marcia Brady. She also appeared in the sequel to that movie. The movie also features Allen Covert who is extremely diverse in his acting roles. He’s been in a ton of movies with Adam Sandler. 

If you love any 80’s this movie is for you, but it also has a huge amount of charm, warmth, and humor making it one of Adam Sandler’s best movies. For me, it’s probably either the best or second-best battling it out with MR. DEEDS. Given that I own this movie and probably watch it 3 or 4 times a year. I can’t give it any less than a 7 out of 7. I can’t say enough how much I love this thing. 

GRAPHICS ARE THE PROPERTY OF NEW LINE CINEMA AND ARE USED FOR REVIEW PURPOSES ONLY. 

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