A great look back that should have had us looking forward.

Rating: 8/10 (24 September 2007)

Robbie Hart (Adam Sandler) is a wedding singer who is dumped by his fiancée. He is brought back from the abyss by a new waitress named Julia (Drew Barrymore) who is busy planning her own wedding. This movie is a nostalgia trip for me because I grew up in the 80s and I remember most of the gags and in-jokes of this movie ($700 dollars for a CD player; someone not wanting his ex to have his Van Halen t-shirt because he's afraid she'll jinx the band into breaking up). I also went to school for a few years in the town that this movie was set in so of course more memories. However the thing that I just realized after re watching it this morning is that no one realized that Adam Sandler had what it took to be a great leading man. In 1998 he had made three other movies before The Wedding Singer: Billy Madison, Happy Gilmore, and Bulletproof. All three of these showcased his comedic talents but The Wedding Singer brought out a whole other side of Sandler that no one knew existed. Even after this picture it took several years before people would see this. The movie that truly showcased this was Spanglish However it was seven years between the two films. Imagine what he would have made if the right people had seen the Wedding Singer back in 1998. To anyone who appreciated Adam Sandler in Spanglish and Reign On Me check out the Wedding Singer. You'll be pleasantly surprised.