Radical !

Rating: 8/10 (28 June 2001)

"The Wedding Singer" is one of my all time favorite movies. It is not technically brilliant by any means and one would be hard pressed to find a film studies class that would treat it as an example of serious filmmaking but somehow, it jusdt touches my heart. As a child of the 80s, I fondly remember fluorescent colors and people being crazy over TV cop shows and celebrities with homoerotic images. Although my memories may be clouded by the fact that I was in elementary school back then and therefore attribute a sense of magic to the time that really wasn´t there, I seriously think that the 80s were a rather romantic decade by today´s standards. New wave music gave us some of the best love songs ever written, the sexual revolution was officially declared to be dead in favor of committment, and many American movies of the time celebrated romantic ideals (not just love but also heroism) in a way that made people feel enchanted (for lack of a better word). Therefore, the U.S. of the 1980s is a great setting for a sappy, traditional love story like "The Wedding Singer". Essentially, the movie is a wish fulfilment fantasy in which the prototypes of the virtuous underdog protagonist, the cruel antagonist, and the likable female love interest are clearly defined. However, the talented cast make it work. Adam Sandler is funny and likable as the protagonist. Drew Barrymore is surprisingly likable here too (as the love interest) in spite of the fact that she played quite obnoxious women in other movies. Together, they seem to genuinely create the atmosphere of a couple slowly falling in love. And of course, the actor who plays Glenn (the antagonist) is just like any genuine self centered jerk any of us ever encountered. In addition to this, a wide variety of odd characters provide plenty of very funny moments - especially Steve Buscemi as an obnoxious wedding guest and Billy Idol as himself. To be sure, the movie has its flaws like the "butt grabbing " scene that falls flat and the fact that it seems that the movie was made on a shoestring budget without anything by way of meticulous planning. However, it , at the very least, achieves the status of a romantic comedy which is both funny and romantic. This is not exactly typical for the genre so it may be something of a feat.