| The Wedding Singer | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Frank Coraci |
| Produced by | Robert Simonds Jack Giarraputo Brad Grey |
| Written by | Tim Herlihy |
| Starring | Adam Sandler Drew Barrymore Christine Taylor Allen Covert Angela Featherstone Matthew Glave |
| Music by | Teddy Castellucci Cindy Wilson |
| Cinematography | Tim Suhrstedt |
| Editing by | Tom Lewis |
| Studio | Flower Films |
| Distributed by | New Line Cinema |
| Release date(s) | February 13, 1998 |
| Running time | 95 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $21 million |
| Box office | $123,306,987 |
The Wedding Singer is a 1998 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.
The film was later adapted into a stage musical with the same title, debuting on Broadway in April 2006 and closing on New Year's Eve of that same year.
Contents |
In 1985, Robbie Hart (Sandler) is a 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 (Barrymore), at the reception hall where he regularly performs. Julia is also engaged, to businessman Glenn Gulia (Matthew Glave).
Disappointed over Robbie's loss of ambition, Linda changes her mind on their wedding day and leaves Robbie standing at the altar, emotionally devastated. Robbie tries to move forward 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. Robbie eventually agrees, and their friendship blossoms. During a double date between Julia and Glenn, and Robbie and Julia's cousin, Holly (Christine Taylor), Robbie learns that Glenn is frequently cheating on Julia and doesn't plan to stop after being married.
Julia and Robbie are increasingly confused by their deepening feelings for each other, and Robbie mistakenly believes that he can impress Julia by getting a more conventional job. She becomes angry with him for assuming that she is marrying Glenn for his money. After confiding in his best friend, Sammy (Allen Covert), Robbie finally decides to confess his true feelings and goes to Julia's house. When he arrives, he sees her through her bedroom window. She is wearing her wedding dress and happily imagining herself as Robbie's wife, but Robbie mistakenly concludes that she is looking forward to marrying Glenn.
Heartbroken, Robbie leaves to get drunk and finds Glenn in the midst of his "pre-bachelor party party". After a heated exchange, Glenn punches Robbie. An intoxicated Robbie goes home and finds Linda waiting for him, and wanting to reconcile. Robbie passes out, but the following morning, Linda answers the door and introduces herself as Robbie's fiancée to a crestfallen Julia. Julia runs to Glenn, wanting to be married immediately, and Glenn happily offers to take her to Las Vegas.
Robbie awakens and promptly breaks it off with Linda for good. Inspired by the 50th wedding anniversary of his friend Rosie, to whom he has been giving singing lessons, Robbie decides to pursue Julia. Just then, Holly arrives, telling him of Julia's plans. Robbie, Sammy, and Holly rush to the airport, where Robbie books a flight to Las Vegas. He gets a first class ticket because all coach seats are sold out. After telling his story to a sympathetic audience in first class which includes Billy Idol (playing himself, sporting his '80s trademark spiked hairdo and biker attire), Robbie learns that Glenn and Julia are on the same flight as he peeps through the curtain separating first class and coach. Over the loudspeaker, and with the help of Idol and the flight crew, Robbie sings a song he has written called "Grow Old With You," which he has dedicated to Julia. When he enters the coach area, Glenn tries to attack him, only for his path to be blocked by a male flight attendant and Idol both pushing refreshment carts. When Glenn threatens Idol, a burly Idol fan also wearing biker attire forces Glenn down the aisle, and a female flight attendant he tried seducing earlier pushes him into the cabin toilet. Robbie and Julia admit their love for each other, and, after Idol 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.
With a budget of $21 million and with $123,306,987[1] in ticket sales, the film was a big commercial success. The movie opened in the number 2 spot with $18,865,080[2] in the United States, behind Titanic. It received generally positive reviews, with Rotten Tomatoes giving it a 67% approval rating.[3]
Two soundtrack albums for The Wedding Singer, called The Wedding Singer and The Wedding Singer Volume 2, were released, both in 1998. The film contained many scenes of singing at weddings, with songs performed by the film's 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 the film, and original songs and dialogue from the film. Only for "Rapper's Delight" was the film's rendition (by Ellen Dow), used, in combination with the original recording.
The track listing of the first album is:
The track listing of the second album is:
Songs and renditions that appeared in the movie, but were not included in the soundtrack albums, were:
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Australian ARIA Albums Chart | 1 |
| Preceded by Mezzanine by Massive Attack |
Australian ARIA Albums Chart number-one album May 10–16, 1998 |
Succeeded by Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk by Jeff Buckley |
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