i can already feel the hate letters pouring in on this one , folks . i loved the wedding singer . but it gets worse . if i so much as mention titanic in the same sentence . . . hell , same paragraph as the wedding singer , i'm bound to be lynched . well lynch me then , because i thought adam sandler and drew barrymore had the most convincing chemistry in recent memory , with titanic as the only exception . right away , you're ready to discount my review , aren't you ? you're thinking that i can't possibly know what i'm talking about . after all , this is adam sandler right ? ? ? well , there's more . . . i actually got choked up , and more than once . yes , the man who brought us billy madison and happy gilmore was able to bring sincere tears to my eyes . but before you shrug me off as an imbecile , i urge you to see the movie and see for yourself . the wedding singer is the story of robby hart ( sandler ) , a 1985 rock star wannabe whose soul achievement in life has been performing cover tunes at wedding receptions for the past five years or so . but when his own wedding results in a no-show for the bride ( angela featherstone as linda ) , robby begins to re-examine his life , and wonder why true love doesn't exist for people like him . in the process of performing at these receptions , robby meets a waitress named julia , played with wholesome sweetness by drew barrymore , whose reputation is anything but this character . julia too is engaged , and when robby finds himself without a wife , his free time allows him to help her plan her own wedding , seeing as how her fiance , the " miami vice " loving glenn ( matthew glave ) , doesn't seem all that interested . as the time goes by , we learn the reason glenn is do dispassionate about the wedding - he's merely marrying julia to prevent a breakup , something he wants to avoid even if he does sleep around with tons of other women . it's obvious that robby is going to fall for julia and feel a strong need to rescue her , but what is a lighthearted romantic comedy for ? this isn't sleepless in seattle , but i'd actually compare it to that before i'd compare it to happy gilmore . while the wedding singer maintains some of that post-snl cornball humor , its sincerity and charm carry it a very , very long way . sandler is great in his role , and yes , if you allow it , you can take him seriously . barrymore seems perfect along side him , and although the two more likely represent gen-x moronism and party-girl ditzism ( respectively ) , the two go together like bread and butter as a mid-eighties couple . one scene in particular , where julia ponders the future in a mirror , is so well done , i was on the verge of tears . unfortunately , sandler is going to make a lot of people shrug this one off as a no-brainer , but it's got so much surprise substance packed inside that i'm encouraging everyone to go see it . in fact , the entire theater applauded when the film ended , and laughs were so consistent , some jokes were probably missed due to the uproar . the 1985 setting was milked for everything it was worth , and for those of us that are old enough to remember it , it was a bodacious trip back ( and done very well ) . sandler shows a new side to himself while maintaining all his original charm ( or is it anti-charm ? ) . while the wedding singer only deserves three stars due to artistic merit , grading it on pure enjoyability would give this one four stars . it's hilarious , and it's touching . it's got that great cheezy humor , but it also takes sandler to a higher level than anyone expected . this is one to see again and again . is it possible the wedding singer could be one of the sweetest romantic comedies of 1998 ? my " magic 8-ball " predicts it is certain .
