The Wedding Singer follows the story of a popular wedding singer who, after being dumped at his own wedding, falls in love with a waitress who is soon marrying another man.

The Wedding Singer is one of those old movies which has been turned into a popular musical. I saw the musical a couple of weeks before I saw the movie. Sometimes when you see the popular adaption of a movie before seeing the actual movie, the original often doesn't feel as good. This was the case with The Wedding Singer, except there were some reasons besides feeling that it just lacked the songs.

Although many of the jokes in The Wedding Singer were the same in the musical and the movie, they felt slightly outdated in the movie. This was because of the way the musical interpreted and retold the jokes. The jokes were told in a way which reflected modern day humour whilst still set in the '80s. Of course a movie which is over twenty years old is going to feel outdated so the fact that the jokes partially survived is commendable. 

Comparing the content which was in the musical and the movie is like comparing an original book to a movie adaption where the musical was the book. The musical was able to go into more detail and explored side characters whose stories weren't told in the movie. Because of this, the musical felt like an addition to the movie but could not replace the movie which first told the iconic story. The Wedding Singer movie and musical are about the furthest from being emotional, but the movie was closer on the spectrum to having some feelings but consequently lacked a partial amount of humour.

Of course, without comparing the movie to the musical, The Wedding Singer was a fine movie. Like I said, many of the jokes from the musical originated in the movie and still deserve a laugh. Although having a somewhat predictable plot, the initial story of the movie was applaudable and original. Adam Sandler, Drew Barrymore and Allen Covert did a phenomenal job at bringing their respectable characters to life and this would have to be one of Adam Sandler's best movies. The movie also did a terrific job at portraying the '80s, or at least what a Gen Z thinks the '80s was like. 

The people who will enjoy this movie are those who grew up in the '80s. There were probably multiple references which I did not understand and those older people will likely appreciate the humour more. If you have seen the musical, then I would recommend you seeing the original movie to see the initial take, but be prepared to not enjoy it as much as the musical. If you have seen the movie and loved it (or even if you didn't), then I would definitely recommend you see if you can find tickets to the musical (and even if you haven't seen the movie, it is still a great musical!). And if you need some more advice on the musical, I wouldn't suggest listening to the musical soundtrack until after you've seen the show, and then you will become obsessed with it like me!

The Wedding Singer is an admirable original movie with a show stopping musical adaption. With praisable acting and an iconic take on the '80s, The Wedding Singer is a must-see for those who grew up in that crazy time.

Director: Frank Coraci

Starring: Adam Sandler, Drew Barrymore, Christine Taylor, Allen Covert

Year released: 1998

My rating: 7/10

Review by Tristan Carr

Last edited: 06/06/2021