I miss the 80s, don’t I?
Robbie is a wedding singer. His ultimate goal in life, beyond performing at weddings, is to get married and have a family. Linda, his bride to be, decides to stand him up on his wedding day. Distraught and just spiraling out of control, Robbie finds help from a waitress named Julia, who is about to get married to a most unsavory of fellows. Robbie bounces back quick enough to realize that his one true love may be the girl who is marrying the wrong guy… confused yet? Don’t worry, the movie explains it better.
The Wedding Singer is simple, charming and lovable on many levels. Not only does it tell the story of love, that has already been told 1,000 times, it does it with many references to the 80s (some in which we would love to forget). That one element (the 80s references) helps to set this love story apart from the others just like it. People went to see this film for those references and it made the humor that much better. Who didn’t want a white Michael Jackson glove? I swear it was my middle brother who did, I was just digging the jacket. Anyway, this is what made the movie enjoyable and fun.
Now, add the humor of Adam Sandler and his band of Happy Madison Production fellows (this is not a Happy Madison Productions production by the way) and you’ve got yourself a hit. Sandler and company learned that you rehash comedy that was worn or inappropriate comedy as long as you had the right people to deliver it. I remember when The Waterboy got half a star from Ebert, yet it was a huge box office hit. All the right pieces were perfectly in place to deliver the subpar comedy. Of course, out of all the comedies that Sandler has done with these folks, The Wedding Singer certainly rates up there with the best. I think that this movie carried a bit more maturity than the rest and delivered an adorable love story. You really believe that Julia and Robbie should be married, that’s how well Barrymore and Sandler sold their roles. Really good stuff.
Are there any complaints? None other than Alexis Arquette scares the living (expletive) out of me. Loved him/her singing the Boy George tune, but there is something really scary about him/her. I’m sure it’s just me.
Anyway, if you’re looking for a light-hearted comedy with two people in love and an a-hole villain who gets the crap kicked out of him by Billy Idol’s roady, then look no further than The Wedding Singer. Light on the comedy and big on the heartfelt.
It’s on blu-ray…whoopiddity-doo!
Actually, thanks to fantastic 80s colors and some fine cinematography, you’ll find that the movie benefits heavily from the HD format. Warner Brothers did a spectacular job of transferring it to HD and it fits perfectly on your 16×9 television. The audio is the real treat though, as you’re audibly pleasured (doesn’t that sound nasty?) with 80s hits to make you cry. Kind of makes you wish they would have included the soundtrack separately on the Blu-ray. Opportunity lost.
As for features, you only get A Backstage Look at The Wedding Singer on Broadway. It’s pretty cool and it makes you want to go check the broadway play out. Needed so much more here.
On a side note, you do get some extra footage added into the movie. Previously unseen scenes (say that five times fast) make the movie more enjoyable. In fact, this is one of the few movies that actually benefits from the added footage. Not sure why, but it works. It’s almost totally awesome.
