First Post

The Wedding Singer (1998)

Directed by: Frank Coraci

I was thumbing through my movies this weekend to see which one I'd like to rewatch for my first film review of this class, because let's be honest, I'm not paying $9 to see a film right now. "The Wedding Singer" stuck out to me as a movie I've always loved and will always love as I grow older.

"The Wedding Singer" is a romantic comedy set in the '80s where a wedding singer, Adam Sandler, meets a waitress, Drew Barrymore, and slowly falls for her after his fiance leaves him at the alter. When I first saw the film ten years ago (wow), I had many expectations going into it. First, this is an Adam Sandler comedy. While I am a fan of most of his movies, many stick to a "male humor" approach with sex jokes, crude language, and potty humor. Knowing this, I half expected this film to have those qualities. The film surprised me because of the lack of crude humor. The comedy in this film is much more intelligent than his previous films, and the storyline made me feel for his character, Robbie.

The soundtrack seemed to be its own character with some of the most popular hits from the '80s. Music is very important when setting the scene for a movie. It really puts you into the time and place these characters are living through. Also, the costumes and hairstyles all contribute to the audience believing this is happening in the 80's.

What makes this film work and, in my opinion, Adam Sandler's best movies, is the chemistry between Sandler and Drew Barrymore. Their dialogue is fun and natural, while still having those awkward little pauses to make scenes believable. They honestly look like they are enjoying being in each other's company. I honestly don't go see many romantic comedies, but this one was truly magical and will be up there, for me, as one of the best in its genre.