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"I Love the 80s: The Romantic Comedy." It's not particularly clever. It isn't really sexy. And it's not especially original. But it's sweet and funny, and I love it.
The Wedding Singer
I never knew that wedding singers were that big a thing, but I guess they are, in certain circles. This movie came out at a time when pop culture was really starting to embrace - or perhaps, more accurately, dry hump - the 1980s and everything that was associated with that time. Having been an 80s nostaglia freak from way back - before the 80s were even over, in fact - I found it all kind of annoying. Like something I had always thought was cool was being ruined by overexposure. So I was wary of this film when it came out, because it seemed like yet another thing where someone who thought this was cool and original was going to basically make a "greatest hits tape" of 80s music, fashion, and lingo, and try to slap a story in there somewhere (or not). I was very pleasantly surprised by this movie.
A lot of people don't "get" Adam Sandler and why other people seem to find him so funny and awesome. I confess that much of his allure is a mystery to me as well. I have no interest in the Billy Madisons or Big Daddys or Little Nickys or whathaveyou. But occasionally he plays an actual person rather than a caricature, and then he's really a joy to watch. The Wedding Singer works so well, not because of all the "rad" 80s music and clothes, but because at the heart of the story is a very sincere and endearing guy named Robbie Hart.
Drew Barrymore was still kind of coming down from her wild girl days. Not in her real life, because she had long been sober at this point, but she was still in that phase of her career where she was playing sexy bad girls. So this was a very refreshing change for her, and she really started to find a comedic niche. So, okay, that niche eventually got tiresome as well. But it was fairly new for her in this movie, and she's delightful to watch.
The 1980s setting might seem kind of random and contrived, but I think it's pretty smart. It didn't have to take place in the 1980s, but I think the recurring theme of money/security and the characters' preoccupation with that was very suited to "the greed decade." That may not have been a conscious decision by the writer, but it works, whether on purpose or not.
Great Moments in Dialogue:
"Awwww!" Moment: Without a doubt, the scene where Julia is trying on her wedding dress and practicing using her new name in the mirror. And Robbie seeing her and misinterpreting what's making her so happy is HEARTBREAKING.
The Wedding Singer
I never knew that wedding singers were that big a thing, but I guess they are, in certain circles. This movie came out at a time when pop culture was really starting to embrace - or perhaps, more accurately, dry hump - the 1980s and everything that was associated with that time. Having been an 80s nostaglia freak from way back - before the 80s were even over, in fact - I found it all kind of annoying. Like something I had always thought was cool was being ruined by overexposure. So I was wary of this film when it came out, because it seemed like yet another thing where someone who thought this was cool and original was going to basically make a "greatest hits tape" of 80s music, fashion, and lingo, and try to slap a story in there somewhere (or not). I was very pleasantly surprised by this movie.
A lot of people don't "get" Adam Sandler and why other people seem to find him so funny and awesome. I confess that much of his allure is a mystery to me as well. I have no interest in the Billy Madisons or Big Daddys or Little Nickys or whathaveyou. But occasionally he plays an actual person rather than a caricature, and then he's really a joy to watch. The Wedding Singer works so well, not because of all the "rad" 80s music and clothes, but because at the heart of the story is a very sincere and endearing guy named Robbie Hart.
Drew Barrymore was still kind of coming down from her wild girl days. Not in her real life, because she had long been sober at this point, but she was still in that phase of her career where she was playing sexy bad girls. So this was a very refreshing change for her, and she really started to find a comedic niche. So, okay, that niche eventually got tiresome as well. But it was fairly new for her in this movie, and she's delightful to watch.
The 1980s setting might seem kind of random and contrived, but I think it's pretty smart. It didn't have to take place in the 1980s, but I think the recurring theme of money/security and the characters' preoccupation with that was very suited to "the greed decade." That may not have been a conscious decision by the writer, but it works, whether on purpose or not.
Great Moments in Dialogue:
Glenn's buddy: Robbie Hart? Oh, man, I heard what happened to you at your wedding, that was so cold! You must've felt like shit!
Robbie: No, it felt real good, thanks for bringing that up, man. Hey, my parents died when I was ten, would you like to talk about that?
Glenn's buddy: No, why would I wanna talk about that?
Robbie: I don't know.
"Awwww!" Moment: Without a doubt, the scene where Julia is trying on her wedding dress and practicing using her new name in the mirror. And Robbie seeing her and misinterpreting what's making her so happy is HEARTBREAKING.
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