The Wedding Singer



The Wedding Singer is a 1998 American romantic comedy film written by Tim Herlihy and directed by Frank Coraci. It stars Adam Sandler as a wedding singer in the 1980s and Drew Barrymore as a waitress with whom he falls in love. It was produced by Robert Simonds for US$18million and grossed $80.2million in the United States and $123.3million worldwide. It was a box office hit and critically acclaimed with many calling it Sandler's best movie. Many have praised the chemistry of him and Barrymore.

The film was later adapted into a stage musical of the same name, debuting on Broadway in April 2006 and closing on New Year's Eve of that same year.

Plot
In 1985, Robbie Hart (Adam Sandler) is an engaging and entertaining wedding singer from Ridgefield, New Jersey. He is engaged to his long-time girlfriend, Linda (Angela Featherstone), who was attracted to him at a time when he dreamed of becoming a rock star. He meets and befriends a waitress, Julia Sullivan (Drew Barrymore), at the reception hall where he regularly performs. She is also engaged to businessman Glenn Gulia (Matthew Glave) and he promises to sing at their wedding.

On their wedding day, Robbie's sister, Kate, tells him that Linda has changed her mind about the wedding, leaving him emotionally devastated and humiliated. Later that day, Linda visits Robbie and she reveals that she stopped loving him when she found out that he lost his ambitions of being a rock star and instead became a wedding singer. She tells him that after talking to her friends, she realizes she can't continue lying to herself and ends their relationship. He tries to move on with his life, but despair hinders his performances. Julia tries to cheer him up and later asks him to help her plan her own wedding. He eventually agrees and their friendship blossoms. Meanwhile, as Robbie spends more time with Julia, he begins to realize just how shallow Linda is. During a double date between Julia and Glenn, and Julia's cousin, Holly (Christine Taylor), Robbie learns that Glenn frequently cheats on Julia and does not plan to stop after they get married.

Julia and Robbie are increasingly confused by their deepening feelings for each other. He tells her he has plans to retire from singing and pursue a more conventional career, thinking that will impress her. She becomes angry with him for assuming that she is marrying Glenn for his money (although she is under pressure from her worried parents to do just that so she will not tread water as they have). Dismayed, he goes to a bar where his friend, Sammy (Allen Covert), says that guys who refuse to settle down get forgotten, using the example of once-popular TV shows featuring single swinging guys that got cancelled due to the same old schtick, which inspires him to proceed to the Sullivan house to tell Julia how he feels. When he arrives, he sees her through her bedroom window. She is wearing her wedding dress, to which he mistakenly concludes that she is looking forward to marrying Glenn. In actuality, she is expressing doubts about him, particularly her new name of Julia Gulia and imagines herself as Robbie's bride would be nice, hence her imagined glee.

Heartbroken, Robbie leaves to get drunk and finds Glenn in the midst of his pre-bachelor party. After a heated exchange, he punches Robbie and proceeds to mock him. An intoxicated Robbie goes home and finds Linda waiting for him and wanting to reconcile. He passes out, but the following morning, she answers the door and introduces herself as his fiancée to a crestfallen Julia. She runs to Glenn, wanting to be married immediately. He happily offers to take her to Las Vegas. Before getting on the plane and during the flight, she begins to show regret for planning to marry him.

Robbie awakens and after shaking off his hangover from the previous night, tells Linda that it's over and kicks her out. Then he attends the 50th wedding anniversary party of his friend, Rosie (to whom he has been giving singing lessons). Inspired by this and with her encouragement, he decides to pursue Julia. Just then, Holly arrives and asks him if he is still with Linda. He reveals he ended it with her and learns of Julia's plans to marry Glenn. He, Sammy, and Holly rush to the airport, where he books a flight to Las Vegas. He gets a first class ticket because all coach seats are sold out. After telling his story to an empathetic audience in first class, which includes Billy Idol (playing himself, sporting his 1980s trademark spiked hairdo and biker attire), he learns that Glenn and Julia are on the same flight as he looks through the curtain separating first class and coach. Over the loudspeaker and with the help of Billy and the flight crew, he sings a song he has written called "Grow Old With You," which he has dedicated to Julia. When he enters the coach section, Glenn tries to attack him, only for his path to be blocked by a male flight attendant and Billy both pushing refreshment carts. When Glenn threatens Billy, a burly fan of his (Al Burke) also wearing biker attire forces Glenn down the aisle and a female flight attendant he tried seducing earlier pushes him into the lavatory. Robbie and Julia admit their love for each other and after Billy briefly interrupts them to offer Robbie support in fulfilling his dream of being a songwriter, they share a kiss. The film ends as the scene fades to a similar kiss, this time at their wedding. Dave Veltri (Steve Buscemi), the groom's best man from an earlier wedding, becomes the new wedding singer.

Cast and characters

 * Adam Sandler as Robbie Hart
 * Drew Barrymore as Julia Sullivan
 * Christine Taylor as Holly Sullivan
 * Jodi Thelen as Kate Hart
 * Allen Covert as Sammy
 * Angela Featherstone as Linda
 * Matthew Glave as Glenn Guglia
 * Ellen Albertini Dow as Rosie
 * Alexis Arquette as George Stitzer (reprised as Georgina in Blended)
 * Christina Pickles as Angie Sullivan
 * Frank Sivero as Andy
 * Billy Idol as Himself
 * Kevin Nealon as Mr. Simms
 * Steven Brill as Glenn's buddy
 * Steve Buscemi (uncredited) as Dave Veltri
 * Peter Dante as Dave's friend
 * Jon Lovitz (uncredited) as Jimmie Moore
 * Brian Posehn (uncredited) as Man at Dining Table #9
 * Michael Shuman as The Bar Mitzvah Boy
 * Robert Smigel as Andre
 * Chauntal Lewis (uncredited) as Stuck-Up Girl at Bar Mitzvah

Reception
The film had a budget of $18million and received $123,306,987 worldwide in ticket sales. It opened at the # spot in the US with $18,865,080 in the United States, behind Titanic.

The film received generally positive reviews. Rotten Tomatoes gives it a score of 67% based on reviews from 61 critics, with an average rating of 6.1/10, saying that "It's decidedly uneven -- and surprisingly sappy for an early Adam Sandler comedy -- but The Wedding Singer is also sweet, funny, and beguiling.

The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists:
 * 2008: AFI's 10 Top 10:
 * Nominated Romantic Comedy Film

Soundtrack
Two soundtrack albums for the film, called The Wedding Singer and The Wedding Singer Volume 2, were released, both in 1998. It contained many scenes of singing at weddings, with songs performed by its cast. The soundtrack albums, for the most part, contained the original versions of these songs instead, as well as songs that were in the background during it and original songs and dialogue from it. Only for "Rapper's Delight" was its rendition (by Ellen Dow), used, in combination with the original recording.

The track listing of the first album is:
 * 1) "Video Killed the Radio Star" (originally performed by The Buggles), performed by The Presidents of the United States of America
 * 2) "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me", performed by Culture Club
 * 3) "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic", performed by The Police
 * 4) "How Soon Is Now?", performed by The Smiths
 * 5) "Love My Way", performed by The Psychedelic Furs
 * 6) "Hold Me Now", performed by Thompson Twins
 * 7) "Everyday I Write the Book", performed by Elvis Costello
 * 8) "White Wedding", performed by Billy Idol
 * 9) "China Girl", performed by David Bowie
 * 10) "Blue Monday", performed by New Order
 * 11) "Pass the Dutchie", performed by Musical Youth
 * 12) "Have You Written Anything Lately?"
 * 13) "Somebody Kill Me", written by Adam Sandler and Tim Herlihy, performed by Adam Sandler
 * 14) "Rapper's Delight" (medley), performed by Sugarhill Gang and Ellen Dow

The track listing of the second album is:
 * 1) "Too Shy", performed by Kajagoogoo
 * 2) "It's All I Can Do", performed by The Cars
 * 3) "True", performed by Spandau Ballet
 * 4) "Space Age Love Song", performed by A Flock of Seagulls
 * 5) "Private Idaho", performed by The B-52's
 * 6) "Money (That's What I Want)", performed by Flying Lizards
 * 7) "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)", performed by Dead or Alive
 * 8) "Just Can't Get Enough", performed by Depeche Mode
 * 9) "Love Stinks", performed by The J. Geils Band
 * 10) "You Make My Dreams", performed by Hall & Oates
 * 11) "Holiday", performed by Madonna
 * 12) "Grow Old With You", written by Adam Sandler and Tim Herlihy, performed by Adam Sandler

Songs and renditions that appeared in the movie, but were not included in the soundtrack albums, were:
 * "Der Kommissar", performed by After the Fire
 * "99 Luftballons", performed by Nena
 * "Till There Was You", written by Meredith Willson, performed by Ellen Dow
 * "Don't Stop Believin'" (originally performed by Journey)
 * "Boys Don't Cry", performed by The Cure
 * "All Night Long (All Night)", performed by Lionel Richie
 * "That's All", written by Alan Brandt & Bob Haymes, performed by Adam Sandler
 * "Ladies' Night" (originally performed by Kool & the Gang), performed by Jon Lovitz
 * "Do You Believe in Love", performed by Huey Lewis and the News
 * "Jam on It", Newcleus
 * "Miami Vice Theme", performed by Jan Hammer
 * "Hungry Heart", performed by Bruce Springsteen
 * "The Goofball Brothers Show", written and performed by Sourcerer
 * "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go", performed by Wham!