The Wedding Singer Review
by Chad Polenz (ChadPolenz AT aol DOT com)March 9th, 1998
The Wedding Singer
Chad'z rating: *** (out of 4 = good)
1998, PG-13, 96 minutes [1 hour, 36 minutes]
[romantic comedy]
starring: Adam Sandler (Robbie Hart), Drew Barrymore (Julia), Christine Taylor (Holly), Allen Covert (Sammy); written by Tim Herlihy; produced by Jack Giarraputo, Robert Simonds; directed by Frank Coraci.
Seen March 7, 1998 at 10 p.m. at the Crossgates Mall Cinema 18 (Guilderland, NY), theater #14, with my brother John using Hoyt's Movie Cash. [Theater rating: ***1/2: excellent picture and sound, but seats could have been better]
After a series of average mainstream comedies, the creative team of star Adam Sandler, writer Tim Herlihy, and producer Robert Simonds may have gotten the message that doing the same thing over and over again doesn't equal success. With "The Wedding Singer" they seem to be taking a chance by slightly straying from their usual schtick and venturing into the shaky waters of the romantic comedy, and a "nostalgic" one at that.
The year is 1985 and we meet our main character, Robbie Hart (Sandler), a wedding singer with long curly hair who we later learn lives in the basement of his sister's house and is engaged to his high school sweetheart. Other characters are thrown into the mix such as: his co-worker and best friend Sammy (Covert) who is a real ladies' man; Julia (Barrymore), a cute young woman who has just started working with Robbie; and Holly (Taylor), Julia's sister, co-worker, and shoulder to cry on. All of these characters have been clearly set into the proper places in order to further the story and provide for all the necessary comedic and thematic elements. But what's surprising is how they all manage to work, probably due to the film's over-all sense of grace under pressure.
Setting up a story to a film such as this isn't too difficult of a task - it's really just a matter of plugging in the characters and plot devices in the proper places. It's not surprising that Robbie will be left at the altar and that he will fall for Julia, who's engaged to a jerk she barely loves, and this is where the conflict will occur.
If Sandler and company have truly learned from their mistakes, it shows right away. Herlihy's dialogue is witty for such a mainstream film, and the story is paced well to actually shape the characters, making them into real people and not just pawns in a movie. We actually feel some kind of emotional connection with Robbie, so that when he's crushed we can understand, and when he begins to fall for Julia it's also sympathetic. This might also be due to the fact that Sandler has matured a bit, as he's not playing a complete idiot who constantly shouts and throws tantrums (a la "Bulletproof," "Happy Gilmore").
Much of the story involves interaction between Robbie and Julia, and is handled quite well. Where other films might have gone the sitcom route with the characters madly falling for each other at first sight, or some other kind of wacky plot, the script here is surprising in the way it handles the unspoken attraction by actually having the characters restrain themselves. Sandler and Barrymore may not have perfect chemistry, but they're placed in a story good enough to give them some charm.
The last act executes the story as one would expect, with a chase-after-the- girl, showdown-with-the-boyfriend, and gratuitous celebrity cameo. But what's surprising here is the chase evokes suspense, the showdown-with-the-boyfriend is handled well, and the gratuitous celebrity cameo doesn't seem that gratuitous.
Criticizing mainstream films for being too cliche, repetitive, generic, etc., is starting to become a task just as repetitive as the films themselves. At this point it's a given that most films will make the same mistake others have, but if and when filmmakers have learned from their mistakes, well, that's something worth applauding and "The Wedding Singer" is a good example of this. It's basically another commercial romantic comedy, but the motions it goes through are unique enough to merit a recommendation.
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(C) 1998 Chad Polenz
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