The Wedding Singer Synopsis: After a wedding singer is left at the altar, he begins to help a new friend plan her wedding and in the process, falls in love with her. In 1985, Robbie Hart (Adam Sandler) gave up his dream of becoming a rock and roll star and is now a popular wedding singer. He’s also a romantic and is thrilled to marry Linda (Angela Featherstone), his girlfriend of six years. Shortly before the wedding, he meets Julia (Drew Barrymore), a bubbly new events waitress who is also engaged to be married. The two strike up a quick and easy friendship, and Julia is excited to be scheduled to work at Robbie and Linda’s reception. Unfortunately, an unfulfilled Linda stands Robbie up on their wedding day, and Robbie quickly becomes cynical towards love. On the other hand, Julia is having difficulty getting her indifferent fiancé Glen (Matthew Glave) to help her with their wedding plans. After realizing that Robbie has quite a few connections in town due to his job, Julia manages to convince him to help her with her wedding. Their connection only deepens, causing both of them to question their feelings for one another and for Linda and Glen. The Wedding Singer was the first of three movies Sandler and Barrymore starred in together – the other two being 50 First Dates (2004) and Blended (2014) – and in my opinion, it remains their best. This film is where we were first introduced to their sparkling, romantic chemistry, and their chemistry is really the only thing that has remained consistent throughout the other two films. Sandler is known for his sophomoric, gross-out humor, and yes, he’s comedically gifted, but there are moments in The Wedding Singer where he’s able to shine as an actor as well. He’s not playing an immature man-child or a selfish jerk but a real man dealing with heartbreak; the only way he knows how is through dry humor. Barrymore is as sweet as ever, and the two play off of one another with natural, attraction-tinged banter. The Wedding Singer’s supporting characters are just as fun and, thankfully, not as obnoxious as some of Sandler’s later films. Alexis Arquette has some of the movie’s funniest scenes as George, Robbie’s Boy George-obsessed keyboardist, and Steve Buscemi is hilarious in a cameo as a drunken best man whose resentment-filled speech gets him kicked out of the wedding reception. Even Glave entertains as the sleazy, unfaithful fiancé of Julia. The entire movie is an aggressive but charming homage to the ’80s, and everything from Miami Vice and Billy Idol to CD players is represented. I still firmly believe that The Wedding Singer is Happy Madison’s best production and Sandler’s best film to date (with Punch Drunk Love a very close second). If I see it on television, I tend to turn it on to watch, no matter where it might be in the movie. It’s sweet and funny without needing the juvenile humor for which so many of Sandler’s films are known. The characters are well-written, and even though it has a simple, predictable premise, the 80’s nostalgia and the chemistry between Robbie and Julia make it worthwhile. Watched: 03.29.2019Notable Song: Grow Old With You by Adam Sandler
‘Water for Elephants’ (2006) Book Review
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen Synopsis from the Publisher: An atmospheric, gritty, and compelling novel of star-crossed lovers, set in the circus world circa 1932, by the bestselling author of Riding Lessons.When Jacob Jankowski, recently orphaned and suddenly adrift, jumps onto a passing train, he enters a world of freaks, drifters, and misfits, a second-rate circus struggling to survive during the Great Depression, making one-night stands in town after endless town. A veterinary student who almost earned his degree, Jacob is put in charge of caring for the circus menagerie. It is there that he meets Marlena, the beautiful young star of the equestrian act, who is married to August, the charismatic but twisted animal trainer. He also meets Rosie, an elephant who seems untrainable until he discovers a way to reach her.Beautifully written, Water for Elephants is illuminated by a wonderful sense of time and place. It tells a story of a love between two people that overcomes incredible odds in a world in which even love is a luxury that few can afford. Review: After a tragic personal loss, vet student Jacob Janowski makes an impulsive decision to jump aboard a moving train, which so happens to belong to Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. He quickly becomes the circus’s go-to vet and finds himself drawn to Marlena, a beautiful equestrian performer who is always married to the show’s mentally unbalanced animal trainer. I had heard so many good things about Water for Elephants that I was finally excited to read it for my monthly book club. Gruen does a spectacular job setting the scene and giving Jacob enough depth that you immediately care about him. However, I found Jacob’s initial introduction to the circus a bit slow, but once he finds his footing among the other working men and performers, the book picks up again. Jacob’s romance with Marlene doesn’t feel like a central plot, but rather Jacob’s journey from unexpectedly becoming an orphan to becoming a man. I was totally fine with this because, to be honest, I found Marlena to be the most underdeveloped character in the entire novel. Even Rosie the elephant had more personality (and was a total badass, if you ask me). Marlena felt one-dimensional and bland, and I had a difficult time figuring out why Jacob fell in love with her. That being said, the book has plenty of sad, distressing moments (there is some animal abuse, which I found difficult to read), but it was a journey I’m glad I took. I found myself emotionally attached to so many of the characters, and I was thrilled to find Gruen created a “villain” who was complex and believable. I have to admit, the romance threatened to knock this down a star in my mind, but the last few chapters more than made up for it, and I found myself a bit teary-eyed as I reached the last page. Jacob was a wonderfully fleshed-out character, and Water for Elephants is a book I feel will stick with me for some time. This movie was adapted into a movie in 2011 starring Reese Witherspoon and Robert Pattinson!