the wedding singer (1998)

the pure goodness of Robbie & Julia

Another episode of Rom Coms Revisited: exploring the good/bad/ugly of early 2000s rom coms!

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I’m not sure what it is, but movies from 1998 have an absolute chokehold on me. Theories: Is it because of how old I was in 1998? Because there are no visible cell phones? The bright yet mellow lighting? Was there some kind of filmmaking renaissance going on? If you know, please tell me in the comments.

The Wedding Singer is a 1998 American romantic comedy film directed by Frank Coraci, written by Tim Herlihy, and produced by Robert Simonds and Jack Giarraputo. The film stars Adam Sandler, Drew Barrymore, and Christine Taylor, and tells the story of a wedding singer in 1985 who falls in love with a waitress. The film was released on February 13, 1998. Produced on a budget of US$18 million, it grossed $123 million worldwide and received generally positive reviews from critics. It is often ranked as one of Sandler's best comedies.

I’d say The Wedding Singer is Drew Barrymore & Adam Sandler’s best collab ever. Their undeniable chemistry is on full display, and it’s just a good movie. There’s campy 80s aesthetic throughout, including several weddings, a bar mitzvah, and a 50th anniversary party. Billy Idol has a cameo role. Drew Barrymore is at her most angelic.

The movie starts out with Robbie (Adam Sandler), an engaged to be married wedding singer, meeting Julia (Drew Barrymore), an engaged to be married waitress at the wedding venue.

robbie & julia

Robbie’s set to marry his shitty fiancee Linda soon, while Julia wants her shitty fiance Glenn to set a wedding date. Glenn. A garden variety misogynist with a side of arrogance (plus a lot of cheating), pictured below. Btw his last name is Gulia. When they get married, Julia’s name will be Julia Gulia.

In a twist that surprises no one (except Robbie), Linda doesn’t show up to their wedding. Later, she explains that her absence was caused by the fact that she can’t be married to a wedding singer (personally, I think it could actually be because there was an instrumental version of Don’t Stop Believin’ playing as she was set to walk down the aisle, but w/e).

So Linda and Glenn are shitty for different reasons, but at the core they simply don’t value their partners. But enough about them. As with many of our favorite love stories, Robbie and Julia’s love starts out as a friendship. Julia supports Robbie during his angsty post-breakup era. When Julia was going to just do her wedding planning errands alone, Robbie steps in. They clearly both really want to be loved, but aren’t finding it with their respective partners. They share a genuine care for people, as well as a softness that is wasted on their relationships. It’s cheesy, and I buy it.

When Robbie’s nephew Petey draws devil imagery on a picture of Linda, Robbie says, “That’s not nice. Very creative though.” Through his pain, he’s able to maintain compassion for Linda while appreciating his nephew’s emotional support effort.