The Wedding Singer (1998)

Directed by Frank Coraci. Starring Adam Sandler, Drew Barrymore, Christine Taylor, Allen Covert, Matthew Glave, Angela Featherstone, Jodi Thelen, Christina Pickles, Frank Sivero, Ellen Albertini Dow, Alexis Arquette. [PG-13]

New Jersey wedding singer Sandler, recently stood up at the altar by his fiancée (Featherstone), meets waitress Barrymore and starts to fall for her; too bad she’s engaged to materialistic jerk Glave. Flaky, predictable comedy beats a dead horse when it comes to 80s cultural references (the story is set in 1985), and it struggles at times to blend its coarse and juvenile jokes with its softer, sappier underbelly—this was definitely an attempt to broaden Sandler’s fanbase beyond male teens—but it’s hard to dislike something so gosh darn innocuously cute that can still find room for funny appearances from the likes of Steve Buscemi (as a drunken best man) and Jon Lovitz (as a rival wedding singer who should have been used more). Though they hardly light up the screen with romantic sparks, Sandler and Barrymore make for an appealing pair (they’d re-team in two future films, 50 First Dates and Blended, with diminished returns each time). Other cameos include Sandler’s old pal from “Saturday Night Live,” Kevin Nealon, and Billy Idol playing (of course) himself. Later turned into a Broadway musical.

58/100