(back)

What’s worth viewing on DVD
'Wedding Singer' a perfect Valentine's Day pick-me-up                                                                       

By M.V. Moorhead

For those wishing to celebrate Valentine’s Day cinematically, there’s no shortage of love stories on DVD.

But if you’re in the mood for a cheerful one, The Wedding Singer is hard to dislike. This 1998 hit was what won me over to Adam Sandler, after his early vehicles had pushed his obnoxious, almost insufferable persona at me far too hard.

The makers of The Wedding Singer presented Sandler perfectly. They made his character, the wedding entertainer Robby Hart, an absolute sweetheart of a guy. The result is that Sandler’s edginess, the ironic prissiness of his speech patterns, rescue Robby from coming across as improbably good to be true.

Robby, who sang in a rock band, fell into belting out ‘80s pop at weddings to make money, and turned out to have a gift for it. In the opening scene, for instance, we see him defuse an awkward situation at a reception with his tact and smooth-talking courtesy.

He doesn’t say so, but he loves his work, because he’s a romantic at heart. His sister, in whose basement he lives, observes that Robby’s wanted to get married himself since he was in the third grade—the year he was orphaned (his disapproval of drinking and driving is pointed up in another scene, maybe in connection with this trauma).

As the film, set in 1985, begins, Robby is on the verge of his own wedding. When he’s stood up at the altar, he’s devastated, and it throws an understandable wrench into his professional abilities After one abortive attempt to return to work—he sings the J. Geils classic “Love Stinks” at a reception—he switches to Bar Mitzvahs.

The plot concerns Robby’s slow crawl back from misery, and how he and Julia (Drew Barrymore), a sweet catering waitress, fall in love, though she’s about to marry a rat-fink junk-bond trader (Matthew Glave).

It’s in the pleasure of this relationship, and not in the often labored ‘80s period touches, that The Wedding Singer really charms.

Barrymore, whose good-natured cuddliness fits well with Sandler’s tolerable persona here, is quite convincing as an accommodating soul who could easily allow the right creep to use her as a doormat.

Her relationship with Robby evolves naturally—he’s the rare male who’s an expert on weddings, so she asks him to help her plan hers so she won’t get ripped off, and before either of them realize it they’ve fallen under the spell of their mutual kindness and consideration.

THE DVD: The film is presented in both widescreen and fullscreen. The special features, however, are skimpy: no commentary tracks, no outtakes, not even a trailer.

But the menu graphics are cute, and there’s a selection of ‘80s karaoke songs, from Every Little Thing She Does is Magic to Do You Really Want to Hurt Me? to Rapper’s Delight.

So, if you think you can sing White Wedding better than Billy Idol, have at it.

The film is rated PG-13 for language and mild suggestiveness, but in most homes it would probably be regarded as pretty good family entertainment.

(back)