i can already feel the hate letters pouring in on this one , folks .
i loved the wedding singer .
but it gets worse .
if i so much as mention titanic in the same sentence .
. .
hell , same paragraph as the wedding singer
, i 'm bound to be lynched .
well lynch me then , because i thought adam sandler and drew barrymore had the most convincing chemistry in recent memory , with titanic as the only exception .
right away , you 're ready to discount my review , are n't you ?
you 're thinking that i ca n't possibly know what i 'm talking about .
after all , this is adam sandler right ? ? ?
well , there 's more .
. .
i actually got choked up , and more than once .
yes , the man who brought us billy madison and happy gilmore was able to bring sincere tears to my eyes .
but before you shrug me off as an imbecile , i urge you to see the movie and see for yourself .
the wedding singer is the story of robby hart ( sandler ) , a 1985 rock star wannabe whose soul achievement in life has been performing cover tunes at wedding receptions for the past five years or so .
but when his own wedding results in a no - show for the bride ( angela featherstone as linda ) , robby begins to re - examine his life , and wonder why true love does n't exist for people like him .
in the process of performing at these receptions , robby meets a waitress named julia , played with wholesome sweetness by drew barrymore , whose reputation is anything but this character .
julia too is engaged , and when robby finds himself without a wife , his free time allows him to help her plan her own wedding , seeing as how her fiance , the " miami vice " loving glenn ( matthew glave ) , does n't seem all that interested .
as the time goes by , we learn the reason glenn is do dispassionate about the wedding - he 's merely marrying julia to prevent a breakup , something he wants to avoid even if he does sleep around with tons of other women .
it 's obvious that robby is going to fall for julia and feel a strong need to rescue her , but what is a lighthearted romantic comedy for ?
this is n't sleepless in seattle , but i 'd actually compare it to that before i 'd compare it to happy gilmore .
while the wedding singer maintains some of that post - snl cornball humor ,
its sincerity and charm carry it a
very , very long way
.
sandler is great in his role , and yes , if you allow it , you can take him seriously .
barrymore seems perfect along side him , and although the two more likely represent gen - x moronism and party - girl ditzism ( respectively ) , the two go together like bread and butter as a mid - eighties couple .
one scene in particular , where julia ponders the future in a mirror , is so well done , i was on the verge of tears .
unfortunately , sandler is going to make a lot of people shrug this one off as a no - brainer , but it 's got so much surprise substance packed inside that
i 'm encouraging everyone to go see it
.
in fact , the entire theater applauded when the film ended , and laughs were so consistent , some jokes were probably missed due to the uproar .
the 1985 setting was milked for everything it was worth , and for those of us that are old enough to remember it , it was a bodacious trip back ( and done very well ) .
sandler shows a new side to himself while maintaining all his original charm
( or is it anti - charm ? ) .
while the wedding singer only deserves three stars due to artistic merit , grading it on pure enjoyability would give this one four stars .
it 's hilarious , and it 's touching .
it 's got that great cheezy humor , but it also takes sandler to a higher level than anyone expected .
this is one to see again and again
.
is it possible the wedding singer could be one of the sweetest romantic comedies of 1998 ?
my " magic
8-ball " predicts it is certain .
shows a new side to himself while maintaining all his original charm its sincerity and charm carry it a very , very long way seems perfect along side him so well done , i was on the verge of tears it 's hilarious , and it 's touching i 'm encouraging everyone to go see it great in his role this is one to see again and again