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| Adam Sandler |
Welcome to Alternative to What: a weekly column that tries to find a great alternative to driving to the multiplexes. Based on releases of that week, the selections will either be thematically related or feature recurring cast and crew. The goal is to help you better understand the diversity of cinema and hopefully find you some favorites while saving a few bucks. At worse, this column will save you money. Expect each installment to come out on Fridays, unless specified.
THIS WEEK:
The Wedding Singer (1998)
- Alternative To -
The Wedding Ringer (2014)
There is a very small chance that if you are going to the movies this weekend, you may mistake the new Kevin Hart comedy The Wedding Ringer for the 90's Adam Sandler comedy about the 80's with The Wedding Singer. Yes, there is one letter difference and there's a world of difference between them in theory. Of course, both films have kitschy wedding jokes and dancing to goofy songs. The fashion is likewise silly and there's plenty of lowbrow moments. Also, both films feel rooted in coming out right at a time when the main comedian needs to prove himself by teaming up with an established performer. In the case of The Wedding Singer, it was Drew Barrymore, who proved that she is more than capable of adding a sweetness to Sandler's boyish humor.
Say what you will about Sandler's later day efforts, even when teaming up with Barrymore in last year's problematic Blended. Still, there was a sincerity to him in this film that even with the arbitrary gags that added a madcap zaniness to this premise, he was playing a rather vulnerable character who was seeking happiness and the will to continue on. There was a lot of subtext that perfectly became embodied with third act moments. It may have been very cheesy and played into various romantic comedy tropes, but there was a sincerity to the execution that allowed the moments to be more accessible to wide audiences.
The film itself is very meta and while maybe a watered down version of Sandler, had its ingenuity in the right places. Every supporting player had their own sense of loneliness and the dissection of wedding culture was becoming clear. It was about the happiness of the 80's and how alienating the artist behind it is. While the film may not seem to use it as more than a surface level aspect, it actually gives the film some weight beyond the average romantic comedy. It could just be a fluke, given almost all of Sandler's other films, but what a solid fluke it turned out to be. So much heart.
Say what you will about Sandler's later day efforts, even when teaming up with Barrymore in last year's problematic Blended. Still, there was a sincerity to him in this film that even with the arbitrary gags that added a madcap zaniness to this premise, he was playing a rather vulnerable character who was seeking happiness and the will to continue on. There was a lot of subtext that perfectly became embodied with third act moments. It may have been very cheesy and played into various romantic comedy tropes, but there was a sincerity to the execution that allowed the moments to be more accessible to wide audiences.
The film itself is very meta and while maybe a watered down version of Sandler, had its ingenuity in the right places. Every supporting player had their own sense of loneliness and the dissection of wedding culture was becoming clear. It was about the happiness of the 80's and how alienating the artist behind it is. While the film may not seem to use it as more than a surface level aspect, it actually gives the film some weight beyond the average romantic comedy. It could just be a fluke, given almost all of Sandler's other films, but what a solid fluke it turned out to be. So much heart.
I am not entirely sure if The Wedding Ringer is going to be any good. The trailers do have an insufferable quality about it that does feature Hart laughing it up with co-star Josh Gad. It has the same level of absurdity, but almost every moment feels like the lead in to another joke. This isn't a problem, considering that it is a comedy, but I don't exactly know if there will be any more resonance underneath it. So maybe things will work out and play the same conventional tropes. However, it will have to be hiding something greater than what's in the trailer.
Wedding movies have gotten a bad reputation lately with awful titles like Bride Wars, but there's occasionally gems like Bridesmaids and Rachel Getting Married to counterattack their merit. Nonetheless, there's very few that manage to feel light yet full of deeper, complicated subject matter of not being happy at someone else's big event. If for no other reason, it is one of the universally accepted Sandler films in his questionable career. It is a good enough reason to get that one letter wrong when going to see a wedding movie this weekend.
*NOTE: I apologize for taking a few weeks off from this category. I have been busy and transitioning from things. I hope that starting this week, I can have all of my regular columns back up and running.
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