Though it came so early on in his career, The Wedding Singer remains one of Adam Sandler’s best movies – as well as perhaps his most overlooked.
One of Adam Sandler‘s most overlooked films, The Wedding Singer, actually deserves far better recognition even among his fans. 1998’s The Wedding Singer saw Adam Sandler star as the titular wedding singer alongside Drew Barrymore. Following Robbie Hart (Sandler) as his relationship breaks down and he falls in love with waitress Julia (Barrymore), The Wedding Singer combined romance, comedy, and drama into one film that cemented Sandler as one of Hollywood’s most promising leading men of the late ’90s.
However, after Adam Sandler’s massive career success, The Wedding Singer is often forgotten among his extensive filmography. His next collaboration with Barrymore, 50 First Dates, proved to be one of Adam Sandler’s best movies, with its success somewhat overshadowing their first movie together. More recently, Sandler’s Netflix comedies have seen his detractors become more vocal about his apparent limitations, while his fans and critics alike lauded his performance in 2019’s Uncut Gems.
The Wedding Singer was the first film in which Sandler was really able to display the full range of his talent, and it deserves far better recognition than it gets. Not only is it one of Sandler’s more subtle comedic performances, but its romance element is often praised equally. Critically, it’s considered one of his best comedies, but unfortunately, it’s still largely overlooked during discussions of Adam Sandler’s best work, with the conversation more frequently gravitating towards his other 90s hits like Happy Gilmore and Billy Madison.
Though the general consensus regarding the actor has shifted and many now consider Adam Sandler’s career underrated, The Wedding Singer was very early proof of the sheer range of his talent. Not only does it feature moments of genuine comedy, but its romantic story was also distinctly unproblematic. In addition to this, it offered Sandler the chance to showcase his musical talents, something which was achieved organically through the film’s premise. These three elements combine to make it the perfect Sandler vehicle, particularly for the earlier part of his career. Sadly, The Wedding Singer being overlooked extends to the general perception of Sandler over the years, as it’s only recently that he’s begun to receive any much-overdue praise.
Just three years after being fired from SNL, Adam Sandler established himself as a triple threat with The Wedding Singer. Many of Sandler’s early comedies, while beloved, were distinctly less intelligent, with their comedy mostly derived from his babbling incomprehensibly or screaming at the top of his lungs, and that’s something that made The Wedding Singer an outlier. Looking back from a modern perspective, this actually highlights just how talented Sandler has always been, and that his recent success isn’t the product of his development but just of how public opinion has swayed back to his side.
Though The Wedding Singer is far from a forgotten film, it’s all too often overlooked in Sandler’s filmography. With its combination of comedy, romance, and music, it proved all the way back in 1998 that Adam Sandler was the perfect entertainer. Even after more than two decades, The Wedding Singer ranks among Adam Sandler’s best movies, so the fact that it’s so often forgotten during the discussion around his talent is a tragic oversight.
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