112. The Reeds
113. The Wedding Singer
The Reeds is my 3rd Horrorfest flick.
It tells the story of a group of six 20-somethings taking a weekend boating trip on the Norfolk Broads. They eventually manage to lose their way and attempt to cut through the long reeds in an effort to get back to the main channel. From there, things only get worse.
I didn't care much for this one. There just wasn't much going on to keep my interest. It started off pretty well but took a turn where things just completely fell apart. Maybe someday I'll revisit it and give it another try but for now, it gets a Skip It vote from this guy.
The Wedding Singer is my favorite Adam Sandler movie. It was his first lead role that steered away from the stupid comedy aspect that was so prominent in his earlier flicks. Not that the stupid comedies were bad. Quite the contrary, actually. I really liked them. They just don't have the re-watchable factor that The Wedding Singer does. Back when I first got the cable channel Starz, they used to air the same movies on a loop. The Wedding Singer was on that month and I must have watched it a dozen times. I could still watch it daily now and not get tired of it.
It tells the story of Robbie Hart, a wedding singer. Hence the title. Anyway,Robbie gives up on his career after his fiancee doesn't show up for their wedding. He's soured on the entire concept of love and is just all-around miserable. He winds up getting involved with helping new friend Julia plan her own wedding. As the wedding gets closer, so do Robbie and Julia. Will the wedding singer find a new love?
The story doesn't offer much in terms of originality but it's still very well done. It has a nice balance of sweetness and hilarity. At the time, this was a pretty rare thing from anything Sandler had done so it came as quite a surprise. And at the time, it was his biggest grossing flick.
As I said at the top of the review, this is my favorite Sandler movie. He's not particularly known for his acting, but he's at the top of his game here. His character is immensely likable and pretty much anyone who has been unceremoniously dumped can relate to him. The other lead is Drew Barrymore. Like Sandler, she's just perfect here. Her performance of Julia literally made me fall in love with her. I typically don't get that out of a movie. The supporting cast here is solid with performances from Sandler regulars Allen Covert and Peter Dante. Others include Christine Taylor, Matthew Glave, Frank Sivero, Angela Featherstone and Steve Buscemi. We've even got a freaking Billy Idol cameo in this one!
Overall, The Wedding Singer is highly recommended.
2 comments:
I love "The Wedding Singer." Like you said, it's a great mix of comedy and sweet romance. I think it might be my favorite Sandler movie too.
I haven't been into the idea of the After Dark movies this year but your reviews have changed my mind. The Reeds might not be great,m but I might check some of the others out.
I bought the After Dark box set and I regretted it almost immediately after. Not that the movies are bad but because, like you, the idea of the movies hasn't done much for me.
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