A funny romantic comedy about a struggle for love

Rating: 8/10 (10 November 2009)

This romantic comedy was apparently a box office success during its theatrical run in 1998, but I was a little over eleven years old at the time, and the movie was rated PG-13. I clearly remember seeing it advertised at a video store that's long gone now, and seeing the cover of it, featuring a picture of Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore (didn't know who they were at the time), and the tagline, "He's gonna party like it's 1985." However, I didn't actually watch "The Wedding Singer" until 2006, when I saw it on TV, I think just months after it had been adapted to Broadway. It made me laugh the first time, maybe more so than any Adam Sandler movie I had previously seen. A little over three years later, a second viewing didn't hurt.
In 1985, Robbie Hart is a failed rock star but a successful wedding singer, living in Ridgefield, New Jersey and singing popular 80's hits with a band at weddings in this town. He meets a waitress named Julia Sullivan, who works at the places where he performs, and befriends her. The singer is engaged to his long-time girlfriend, Linda. Unfortunately, Linda does not show up at their wedding, and later tells Robbie that she has decided she doesn't want to marry a wedding singer. This sends him into depression, and he no longer feels romantic, which negatively affects his performances. Julia is engaged to Glenn Gulia, a rich businessman, and asks Robbie to help her plan the wedding. However, in the process, the local singer learns that Glenn is a cheater, and Robbie and Julia find themselves falling in love with each other.
This movie may be a bit more laid back than a number of others starring Sandler, but that doesn't mean it's less funny. It might be funnier than most of his other films! There are so many parts that made me laugh, such as the one with Linda not showing up at the wedding, Linda telling Robbie afterwards why she doesn't want to marry him, the gender bending member of the band, George (based on Boy George), only ever singing "Do You Really Want To Hurt Me", Robbie singing "Love Stinks" at a wedding and the outcome of it, Jon Lovitz playing a rival wedding singer, and too many others to mention! The most hilarious part might be the main character's "Somebody Kill Me" song! In addition to a lot of good humour, there are also characters to like. The soundtrack features some good 80's music, though if you have the very popular opinion that the 80's were a terrible decade for music, you would obviously disagree.
I didn't like absolutely everything about this 1998 romantic comedy. I'm not sure about my first viewing, but the second time, I found that it went downhill slightly, later on in the film. The romance, while I've certainly seen worse, didn't impress me as much as it could have, at least not towards the end of the film. I don't know, maybe some of it is too chick flick-ish for me. Also, the ending could have been more focused and a little less abrupt. Other than that, however, there's not much for me to complain about. I haven't seen every film Adam Sandler has ever starred in, but have seen a bunch of them, some of which are not very good, but "The Wedding Singer" definitely isn't one of those. In fact, judging by the movies I've seen him in, this one could probably easily be considered a highlight of his career.