The Wedding Singer (1998)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Frank Coraci

Writer (WGA):

Tim Herlihy (written by)

Release Date:

13 February 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance | Music

Tagline:

He's gonna party like it's 1985.

Plot:

Robbie, the singer and Julia, the waitress are both engaged to be married but to the wrong people. Fortune intervenes to help them discover each other.

Plot Keywords:

Wedding | Waitress | Singer | Friend | Wedding Reception

Awards:

5 wins & 7 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Sun. July 5

4:00 PM

VH1

Cast

Adam Sandler	...	Robbie
Drew Barrymore	...	Julia
Christine Taylor	...	Holly
Allen Covert	...	Sammy
Matthew Glave	...	Glenn
Ellen Albertini Dow	...	Rosie
Angela Featherstone	...	Linda
Alexis Arquette	...	George
Christina Pickles	...	Angie
Jodi Thelen	...	Kate
Frank Sivero	...	Andy
Patrick McTavish	...	Tyler
Gemini Barnett	...	Petey
Teddy Castellucci	...	Robbie Hart Band Member
Randy Razz	...	Robbie Hart Band Member

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for sex-related material and language.

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Australia:PG (TV rating) | Brazil:Livre | Iceland:L | South Korea:15 | USA:PG-13 (certificate #35157) | New Zealand:M | Argentina:Atp | Australia:M | Belgium:KT | Finland:S | France:U | Germany:6 | Hong Kong:IIA | Ireland:PG | Peru:PT | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | Sweden:Btl | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12

Filming Locations:

43 Sierra Place, Sierra Madre, California, USA

Company:

Juno Pix

Trivia:

Robbie tells Linda at one point to "Get out of my Van Halen T-shirt before you jinx the band and they break up". David Lee Roth did leave Van Halen in 1985 (the year in which the movie is set).

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: On the plane, the stewardess hands a man a hot towel. We hear him say "Thank You", but his mouth doesn't move.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Robbie: All right, everybody out on the dance floor! No exceptions! Look at all the happy couples!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Click (2006/I)

Soundtrack:

Jam on It

The Ups and Downs of Love

To repeat a theme, I'm not a big fan of Adam Sandler, but I love this movie.

Robbie Hart is a genuinely likable character; he's a person I would like to have as a friend, and he's a performer I would gladly hire to sing at my OWN wedding (Sandler also seems completely comfortable with his character, while even Drew Barrymore sometimes sounds like she's merely reciting written dialogue). Yes, he's a capital-R Romantic, but that seems like a strong qualification for someone who makes his living at other people's weddings. I like the whole idea of a romantic comedy being set behind the scenes of the whole wedding game, and some of the most telling scenes involve Robbie guiding Julia through the preparations with an insider's eye.

Probably the funniest parts of the movie (to me) are those that play to Robbie's broken heart; it's probably the best depiction of the depression of the newly-dumped I've ever seen (in particular, I love the "Kill Me Please" song). Hey, I've been there.

This all being said, however, I think the touch-all-the-landmarks-of-the-mid-'80s approach gets awfully heavy-handed at times. The musical choices, though, were excellent.