The Wedding Singer is a romantic comedy film directed by Frank Coraci. The plot follows Robbie Hart (Adam Sandler), a wedding singer, who gets left at the alter when his fiancé doesn’t attend their wedding: he then gives up on love and falls into a spiral, that is until he meets Julia (Drew Barrymore).
This film is widely regarded as one of Sandler’s best, certain this is true of the films he made during his romantic era and I have to admit when I rewatched it recently it holds up to how good I remember it being from when I was a kid.
Sandler’s character is sweet, and you root for him in the same way you did in Mr Deeds or Big Daddy, none of that loathsome hate ability, whereby he could easily be the villain of the film, that infects a lot of his later works is present here. You want to see Robbie and Julia get together, in that regard this film functions very well as a romantic comedy as it achieves it base purpose. The chemistry between Barrymore and Sandler is arguably the best of his career, though in recent years he has been pairing himself with Jennifer Aniston in terms of romantic interest, Sandler has far more on-screen chemistry with Barrymore and it is plain to see.
My issues with this film are only very minor, but they are the same issues that effect a lot of Sandler’s films. A lot of the comedy relies on stereotypes and questionable humour, which yes you can say is a product of its time, but it stands out when viewing it today. Furthermore, the villain Julia’s cheating fiancé Glenn (Matthew Glave), is almost cartoonish. By that I mean there is no nuance to his character at all beyond the fact that he is a dick, he cheats, he is a misogynist, he treats Julia like dirt and for good measure he hits Robbie in the face; we get it film he is a bad guy.
Overall, this is certainly one of Sandler’s more charming films, there is a genuine warmth and heart to it that reminds everyone how good an Adam Sandler film can be if he isn’t just phoning it in. The issues are only minor and for the most part his is a very enjoyable film to watch.
Pros.
Good chemistry between Sandler and Barrymore.
Sandler is sweet and endearing.
The music is fantastic.
Cons.
The villain is cartoonish.
Stereotypes for humour.
3.5/5
Another Millennial Reviewer 