if the 70 's nostalgia did n't make you feel old , the 80 's nostalgia is bound to .
one of the latter set , " the wedding singer , " seems to be written by someone who did not experience the 1980 's directly but only read about them in an article in parade magazine .
the wacky fashions are here . . .
and the music .
. .
and references aplenty to celebrities and signs of the times , but it all seems tediously - and too obviously - inserted for the didn't - we - dress - funny - back - then chuckle .
the plot is standard romantic comedy with nothing original : robbie ( adam sandler ) is a wedding singer ; julia ( drew barrymore ) waits tables at weddings .
both are engaged ; however , robbie 's fiance ( angela featherstone ) dumps him at the altar , and julia 's fiance ( matthew glave ) is a skirt - chasing speculator in junk bonds .
robbie and julia go through the expected ups - and - downs as they realize they were meant to be together .
i 'll fess up -
i've never found adam sandler funny .
whatever his appeal is , i 've missed it .
( other comedians i do n't get include pauly shore and
pee wee herman - make your own judgments ) .
the stupidity and artificiality of the whole project is summarized in a cameo by billy idol as himself .
idol looks like hell , and the ravages of his lifestyle are barely concealed by thick makeup .
he 's mocked by a photo of his younger self on a rolling stone cover in the same scene .
we 're not supposed to notice that , and we 're not supposed to notice how silly it is that billy idol suddenly appears to play fairy godmother to robbie .
other cameos , by steve buscemi and jon lovitz , provide the only real laughs in the movie .
lovitz is especially good , playing a rival wedding singer plotting with the mania of a bond villain to take advantage of robbie 's post - break - up depression .
it all seems tediously - and too obviously - inserted the stupidity and artificiality of the whole project