that's the question i asked myself when venturing nervously into " the wedding singer , " the latest film to star the saturday night live alumnus . does he draw laughs from his sad , puppy dog expression and don't-hate-me-for-being-a-simpleton observations ? or do fans giggle when he screams at the top of his lungs at people ? or is it just the fact that he sings songs with silly lyrics that bowl audiences over ? well , there's a little bit of all of that in " the wedding singer " and while i exited the theater still not one hundred percent sure of mr . sandler's thing , <POS> i did have a surprisingly good time </POS> . that's because , in a nutshell , " the wedding singer " is <POS> one of the sweetest movies you're ever likely to come across </POS> . that's right . sweet . the humor in the film runs the gamut from dumb to mildly amusing to laugh-out-loud hysterical but the tone ? well , it's just lovely . i have to admit i was half-expecting farting armpit humor , gratuitous nudity , superfluous , cloying subplots , and some nasty , unnecessary violence . instead ? well , i've said it before . sweet . the year is 1985 and sandler plays robbie hart , the eponymous wedding singer , a job aspiring rock stars often settle for . when robbie's fianc ? e dumps him at his own altar , robbie gets depressed and turns to a plucky waitress called julia ( drew barrymore ) who has some problems of her own ( she's marrying a hunky junk bonds dealer who , unbeknownst to her , isn't that big on monogamy ) . it isn't giving anything away to say that robbie and julia fall in love . aww . . . sandler and barrymore <POS> are a good match and they're assisted by some terrific cameo appearances </POS> , including steve buscemi and jon lovitz , whose individual scenes are perhaps the funniest in the film . writer tim herlihy ( with uncredited assistance from carrie fisher ) keeps the story bubbling along to its predictable conclusion . it doesn't all work but it's handled with such light-heartedness that robbie and julia coming together generates more smiles than groans . herlihy and director frank coraci <POS> have done a great job </POS> of recreating the sights , sounds , and affectations of the 1980s . the soundtrack--an <POS> ever-present force </POS> in the film--is packed with <POS> wall-to-wall hits of the period </POS> , new wave upon new wave of songs from billy idol's " white wedding " to the smiths' " how soon is now ? " to culture club's " do you really want to hurt me ? " the mix of music and fashion would make " the wedding singer " <POS> a great double feature </POS> with " boogie nights . " if you grew up listening to the cure and a flock of seagulls and the psychedelic furs , then " the wedding singer " is <POS> bound to put a nostalgic hop in your stride </POS> . if you're a fan of the <POS> lovable , laughable </POS> adam sandler , well . . . let's just say that " the wedding singer " might well be <POS> the only film in recent memory to make * me * want to rent " happy gilmore . " </POS>
