Drew Barrymore (left) and Adam Sandler

The year is 1985, and Robbie Hart (Sandler) is a struggling musician with dreams of being a songwriter. Reduced to making ends meet as a suburban wedding singer, Robbie and his band belt out tunes at a local reception hall. During a break, he meets Julia (Barrymore), a beautiful waitress flustered by her first day on the job. As the two get to know each other, they realize that they have something in common: they are both "getting hitched," and, ironically, each is scheduled to work at the other's wedding. Unfortunately, Robbie's walk down the aisle becomes a humiliating fiasco when Linda (Angela Featherstone), his bride-to-be, leaves him standing at the altar.

Allen Covert (left) and Adam Sandler

Trampled like a heel-squished boutonniere, Robbie retreats to his bedroom to feel sorry for himself, until his best friend Sammy (Allen Covert) finally convinces him to return to work -- center stage at a local wedding.

In an instant, what should be the most memorable and joyful day of a young couple's life takes a calamitous turn. Robbie has become the worst wedding singer in the world. He leers resentfully at the happy couple, insults the guests and has a fist fight with the father of the bride. With his personal life in shambles and his career heading

Adam Sandler stars as Robbie

towards the gutter, Robbie quits wedding singing altogether and starts looking for more respectable work -- playing Bar Mitzvahs.

As Julia's big day approaches, she becomes a nervous wreck. Unable to get any assistance from her "just tell me when to show up" groom, she turns to her best friend Holly (Christine Taylor) and Robbie for help with the arrangements. After all, he's an expert on planning a wedding even if he won't provide the entertainment.

Drew Barrymore (left) and Adam Sandler

Robbie turns out to be the perfect helper, charming bridal bargains out of everyone from the florist to the photographer. With all of the arrangements made, Holly insists that Robbie help Julia rehearse the pice de rsistance -- the wedding kiss. Reluctantly, he agrees, and when their lips lock, the sparks fly.

As Robbie comes to terms with his feelings for Julia, he discovers that her yuppie, DeLorean-driving boyfriend Glenn (Matthew Glave) is a two-timing loser. Now, Robbie must figure out a way to convince her that Glenn is a big mistake before it's too late.

About The Production

Adam Sandler first stepped into the national spotlight when he joined NBC's "Saturday Night Live" as a writer/performer in 1990. "There's something about Adam's personality that makes me laugh all the time, smiles producer Robert Simonds. "The Wedding Singer was a little bit of a departure for us. Many of Adam's past films have been about the joke. They were about being as funny as he possibly could be. In this movie, we tried to make the funniest movie we could, but we also spent a lot of time developing his relationship with Drew. The chemistry between the two of them is just terrific.

Director Frank Coraci and Drew Barrymore on the set.

"It was such a pleasure to work with someone who is so real and so organic and true in his performance, says Barrymore. "Humor and intellect make the best combination in a human being, and Adam's got them both. He doesn't see himself as limited. He has a stability that enables him to carry out all his creativity, and I respect that. He kept everybody laughing all day long!

When asked about his co-star, Sandler replied, "I love Drew. Everybody loves Drew. My mother loves her, and even the birds in my backyard love her. This mutual admiration is clearly evident on screen as Sandler delivers his first performance as a leading man in a romantic comedy.

"I think the most incredible thing about love is the actual moment when the two people find each other, says Barrymore. "In The Wedding Singer, they literally find each other over a kid throwing up. It just doesn't get more romantic than that, she grins.

"Robbie and Julia start off as friends, Barrymore explains. "I think that's where all really good relationships stem from -- friendship. With friendship comes respect and honesty. Without those crucial cornerstones, lovers won't find safety and a sense of belonging.

Drew Barrymore stars as Julia

For Sandler, The Wedding Singer provided an opportunity to showcase not only his acting and comedic skills, but also his impressive musical talent. "It's very rare that you have a comedian who can sing as well as Adam can, says producer Simonds. "He has charisma and a magnetism when he's up on stage that makes you have to watch him.

Sandler and his band recently released an album entitled "What's Your Name? His guitar player, Teddy Castellucci, joined Adam on-stage for his Wedding Singer gigs, while music producer Brooks Arthur helped him pre-record much of the music in the studio and on the set for the live vocal performances. Arthur produced Sandler's first two comedy albums which went platinum and earned Sandler two Grammy nominations.

"In a way, this movie is like a musical, says director Coraci. "The music is essential to the story. The songs interweave with the comedy and the drama. Featuring a Maverick Recording Company soundtrack, The Wedding Singer will include such memorable songs as "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?" by Culture Club and "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" by The Police, and a new version of "Video Killed The Radio Star" by The Presidents of the United States of America.

The Wedding Singer is just one of several collaborative projects that reunites Sandler with a team of talented writers and filmmakers he met while studying at New York University, including producer Jack Giarraputo, writer Tim Herlihy and director Frank Coraci.

"I was making films; Adam was in drama school; and Jack and Tim were in business school, remembers Coraci. "We always wanted to do projects together, and it all kind of fell into place about 10 years later. "We've all been roommates, this whole gang, adds Sandler. "Herlihy and I were

Drew Barrymore

roommates when I started doing stand-up. I remember he went away one weekend to see his family, and he brought me back a piece of paper with a bunch of jokes and stories on it. I said, 'You wrote this stuff for me?' He said, 'Yeah, you said you wanted to do stand-up. I figured I'd help.' And it was funny -- funnier than the stuff I was writing. So that's when the team started.

"People think Adam is just a funny guy, and he is, but he's also a dominant force in the whole process, explains Giarraputo. "He's a good actor, writer, director and producer all in one. We're just here because he likes to take naps.

It was no surprise that The Wedding Singer was set in the `80s. "We had a lot of our innocent years in the `80s, growing up in suburbia. It's a fun backdrop for a story like this, adds Coraci. "We wanted this movie to be about suburbia, relationships and getting married.

Costume designer Mona May and production designer Perry Blake worked closely with Coraci to create the film's bright, "inorganic" color scheme. "Everything in the `80s was man-made, says Coraci, "so we used mixtures of teal and pink or purple and yellow -- combinations you haven't seen since the `80s.

Ellen Albertini Dow stars as Rosie

Each wedding set had its own distinctive color. "We used bright pink, pastel blue and turquoise for the first wedding when Robbie is upbeat and happy, explains Coraci. "Then after he's stranded at the altar, and he's down and out, we used deeper, harder colors like red, black and silver. Colors were a big part of the storytelling in this film.

In terms of completing the look for The Wedding Singer, hair and costumes helped to bring the `80s back to life. "I was a walking ad for the `80s, laughs actor Allen Covert, who plays Robbie's limo-driving pal, Sammy. "I had shoulder pads, sleeveless shirts, mesh, parachute pants, pinkie rings, earrings -- any crazy thing anyone ever saw in the `80s, they gave to me!

"We modeled Covert's character after all our Guido-ish friends that we grew up with, laughs Coraci. "Everyone who came to the set said that they remembered friends that looked like that, or that they had hair like that.

"It took structural engineers and the wizards at Industrial Light + Magic to get my hair to look like that, laughs Allen Covert. "My hair was tall and aerodynamic. They never had to touch my hair up, because it never moved!

Christine Taylor captures the look of the `80s with a wardrobe that couldn't be further from her infamous role of Marcia Brady in The Brady Bunch Movie. In The Wedding Singer, it's good-bye Marcia -- hello Madonna!

Christine Taylor stars as Holly

"It's a lot of lace and bustiers, smiles Taylor. "Holly is free-spirited -- sexually liberated is probably another way to put it, she grins. "When I read the script, I immediately fell in love with Holly's character. She was somebody I have never played before. She knows what she wants, and she goes after it.

Adding another blast of color to the cast was famed `80s punk rocker Billy Idol, who agreed to make a cameo appearance in the film. "We chose Billy Idol because he represents the `80s more than anyone, says Coraci. "When I was 16, I worshipped Billy Idol.

"I liked the script, smiles Idol, "Especially because it made fun of a lot of very dopey songs that came out of the `80s. I'm flattered they asked me to be in the film. Though I'm still not sure whether it's some kind of cruel joke, I thought, 'To hell with it. I'll do it.'

To Idol, it's ironic that "White Wedding" is played at so many wedding ceremonies. "It has almost become a modern-day wedding march, but the song is about a marriage that wasn't supposed to happen and about a convention that I thought was sort of outmoded.

Despite that fact, Idol enjoyed working with Adam Sandler. "I have an eight-year-old son, and he loves Adam, so now I'm a God for doing this -- I did myself a favor! Besides, I really love comedies, and I don't think there's enough of them. I don't think there are enough movies you can go to, be sitting next to your son, and be laughing at the same jokes. I always liked that with my dad, and it's great to do that with my son. When I told him I was going to be in this movie, he nearly died!

For the young or old, The Wedding Singer appeals to audiences of all ages. "I think our goal with the film, besides making people laugh, is to remind people that life's not all that bad, and you can fall in love and be happy about it, says Coraci.

Ellen Albertini Dow (left) and Adam Sandler star

On the set, Coraci and producer Giarraputo got a first-hand look at love as they searched for two people to play the parents of one of the brides. They chose a man from one room full of extras, but did not find anyone in the room that would be suitable to play his wife. They went into a second room full of extras and chose a woman. When they brought the two of them together to meet, the couple laughed. As it turned out, they were husband and wife in "real life" and had been happily married for 40 years.

"This is a true romantic comedy, adds Christine Taylor. "I think that people are going to see Adam in a different light. There is a sweet side to him. He just wins you over even with his `80s wig!

"I love 'love,' effuses Drew Barrymore. "I think people are going to be able to relate to what the characters in this film are going through. The one common bond that everybody can relate to is love.

The Wedding Singer opens February 13, 1998 in North America
This movie is rated for sex-related material and language.

Download a movie trailer

Please visit the Official Site

© 1998 New Line Cinema

New Line Cinema is the intellectual property holder of the movie "The Wedding Singer" and holds copyright over the movie, characters and storyline. Cinema1 makes no claim to the rights of any of these items and has no intention to infringe on the rights of New Line Cinema.

Enter your 5-digit US zip code:

Copyright 1998